Persona: Tiwaz
by VI Intelligence
Summary: Before Yuki Makoto's arrival, another person has signed the contract bearing all responsibilities for his actions...however he doesn't receive the power of the Wild Card. Non-Wild Card, changes to the story (not the storyline directly, but pretty much new Shadows and stuff) Rated M now, because I need to. *Chapter 8 edited.
1. Bad Fortune

Persona Festivities Intro

Author's notes: Hello guys. This is essentially a small snippet into one of the works that I've made in my spare time, as a guy who has streaks of possibilities opening up every so often, ideas like this come up to mind when I see potentially good works of games, animation or so forth. This is just a chapter one-shot about possibility, there's no guarantee it will come true and also I miss one-shots like this as it gives ideas to others to let them try their hand at it or put forth suggestions of trying some other perspective of it.

For those who are wondering from my works I do appreciate some canon and some could say I walk the canon ground while others are well-versed in shipping fics and other possibilities that are far away from the canon as possible. I have to admit that it is true, I am rigid in some ways which challenges me to write flexibly compared to just sticking with the canon all the time as some people may know it by watching or playing the same events over and over, so as a writer about existing works the question of creativity and exploration come to challenge you. What can you change? What if this was possible? That's why I enjoy writing some of these one-shots as they act as some kind of inspiration tool that I can turn to or use for you readers to think maybe it could work into a full-fledged fiction story spanning tens of chapters.

Well I won't keep you from some of the thoughts I share on these one-shots, enjoy the one-shot intro to a potential universe called Persona Festivities.

I do not own the Persona Series or the Shin Megami Tensei series, they belong to their rightful owners of Atlus and stuff, may Persona 5 be great. I also recommend Naoto be mentioned or being a minor or perhaps a side antagonist to the criminal protagonists, I mean a phantom thief would attract enough attention for the great detective ace Naoto right?

Come on guys you gotta admit that would be a good nod to Persona 4 right there.

* * *

2009 first day of February, ?

_But when you close your eyes_

_Does it always feel like, nothing's changed at all?_

The beat of the music, rhythmic and pounding was all that the owner of the vermillion-white headphones could hear in his ears as the chorus rang with chants and drums thumping loudly like an undercurrent to the singer's voice accentuating a feeling of power resonating within. Eyes that were once closed began to open up slowly as a pair of equally red orbs flittered to life, the rustling of clothing which was slightly loose while muddy blonde strands of hair swept over an eye before a hand shoved the fringe away the red-eyed person finding himself awakening to a degree of noise from the surroundings as he shifted his body which was planted firmly on the back of a slippery smooth wall, the slide of his body being unbalanced caught his instincts and tried his best to keep attached.

"…" The boy with headphones lurched forward when a sudden jerk of force from the wheel bumping his head into the back of a businessman, the man in the suit giving no heed as his leg too had shifted to accommodate for the sudden change in physics however a forest of legs prevented his slide from doing much to soften the impact grunting as he did so. The boy meanwhile kept silent and slithered back against the wall trying to avoid any eye contact with anyone in the vehicle, the sound of the wheels clanking against the railroad track being the comforting source.

"May I have your attention please?" The boy shifted his eyes upwards as a mechanical voice slightly feminine in tone announced itself over the PA system, a frown etched on his face while he tapped his foot softly to the bridge which had softened from the loud chorus. "Attention, the train will now be stopping soon at…"

_Another stop closer,_ the thought that sprang to the forefront of his mind and was shrugged off, the weight behind the words were making his body feel chained. The boy watched the black suited backs holding suitcases stand back faced against him like a boring string of monotony, the lack of freedom and a feeling of suffocation and being cut out were exuding from their positions to the boy, his finger reaching to the player in his hand and scrolling down the list of songs and artists red eyes reading each title before he settled for his choice planting his finger in a long delayed tap, the current track grinding to a halt in mid-beat before static was heard. The player soon began to play the desired track just as the doors to the train opened and a hiss of air prompted him to wince at the unnatural sound, the crowd of adults moving out in a flood of squashed bodies as the boy hung in the back his right hand brushing the rough fabric which he could sense from touch was the large sports bag that he had managed to bring along carrying his belongings, the touch seemingly bringing up the fact that it was existent to the boy as he stared at it for two seconds and turned his head back to the nearly empty train of commuters. As the train rumbled away, the boy set the volume of the player up just a little higher letting the lyrics flood his ears as he grabbed his bag moving to the row of empty seats as he noticed the once crowded train becoming thinner down the cars of the train leaning his back against the seat.

"Attention, the train will have its' last stop at Iwatodai station…repeat, the train's last stop is at Iwatodai station. Any commuters who are wishing to board the train to Port island station, we regret to inform you that a delay of half an hour would be required to wait for the train due to…"

The Mp3 player's volume was turned up a little further as the music became clearer, the boy not wanting to listen to the pointless announcement closing his eyes and began to let sleep overtake his senses.

* * *

?, unknown time February 2009

"Ah, a new guest..." The boy said nothing as he took up his seat at a couch leaning against the backrest of the large comfortable seat, the boy staring ahead at the source of the voice with blank eyes different from his worried orbs of red from earlier as he blinked slowly, as if groggy from a dream as the image of a man appearing behind a square table addressed him with a soft tone. The boy with muddy blonde shook himself awake as the last dregs of sleep were torn from his mind clearing up the haze as quickly just as the boy looked around confused for a second, observing the four walls filled with clock faces without any frames or electronic numerals, metal hands turning and turning in circles with no regards to actual time passage while the man in front of him spoke merrily at his presence.

"It is rare to have not one, but two guests who are on the same path yet time doesn't seem to agree with the intersections in between don't you think?"

"…Where…?" The boy responded to the strange question posed for him as he turned his head to either direction of the walls noting the clock faces that were continuing to turn. The man didn't wait for him to finish his unstated question as he stretched out his hands, the teen finally realising that this man had bulging eyes with small beads for eyes as well as unnaturally long hands which were a contrast against his lean physique and broad shoulders overarching his head. But that didn't scare him, instead the teen looked in fascination at one of the most inhumanely achievable large-sized nose that was resting atop the gloved palms of the strange man with balding hair, the sound of clocks ticking being the only period of silence before the man spoke to him, smiling still.

"We're in the Velvet Room, dear guest…or have you forgotten the first time you visited us?" The man said yet the teen couldn't sense any disappointment at him but a chuckle broke the silence that had befallen the weirdly designed room proved that point, the man instead smiling wider as he brought his hands out at the expanse of the room. "It does not matter whether you do remember your last visit to us I suppose, you have approached us out of your own will and acceptance of the contract which you had signed beforehand."

"I…did?" The teen said in an emotionless quizzed look, clueless to the man's words as the bald man grinned his large nose resting atop of his palms again, the man smirking widely while he gestured to the air as a simmer of light formed above the table settling down to form into what appeared in the teen's mind to register as a paper attached to a folder cover the teen not bothering to question how it is that it turned up in the middle of nowhere as he watched the paper jut out at him as he read the fine print.

_**I, Felice, swear upon by this contract, that I will be responsible for any action that I take and that I will abide by the terms of the contract stated.**_

"This looks…"

"Familiar? Indeed, perhaps you are close to regaining some sort of memory as to what you previously told me before you signed this contract. But what is done is done, I would advise you that before we move on there are some things that even someone like you cannot hope to run away from, and this is one of those times…your road has been destined to be difficult especially with what you've knowingly signed for, you will face both sadness and sorrow yet still hold your smile and move into the future no matter how mired the present seems. With this contract, you have accepted a heavy burden of responsibility and I feel that it is right that I forewarn you about it, but do not lose hope in such dark times…please remember this." The man said as the teen kept quiet nodding in understanding as the man then smiled satisfied with the answer that the boy had given him before he leaned backward into the chair but held his elbows firm onto the table.

"My name is Igor," the man introduced himself as he gestured to his left which the teen followed with his inquisitive eyes, and the sight he beheld was a woman dressed in a very formal velvet jacket and pants with wavy blonde hair with golden eyes staring at him stiffly while standing next to Igor holding a large book in her left hand while she gave a light bow in his direction. "And this here is my assistant, Margaret. She is an attendant who takes care of some of the duties around the Velvet Room."

"Pleased to meet our guest," Margaret said politely as the teen found a deep silence and a loss for words as he leaned forward on the couch, blinking more slowly as if to not wake up from the dream as he found some measure of strength in his voice to speak. "…Such beauty, like that of an angel." Margaret's expression fell slightly but was covered up as she took the compliment in stride, Igor chuckling at the brief mental blank that the teen had drawn as he closed his eyes briefly.

"Our guest is quite the complimentary one, isn't he?" Hearing nothing from Margaret Igor continued as he looked at the teen grabbing his attention with his voice. "It seems that time grows short, so I will be brief: did you know that cards can tell a lot about someone's own path, and how unpredictable such cards can be?"

"Uhh…no, I don't believe in fortune telling and all that bullsh-" The boy closed his mouth when he noticed Margaret looking sternly at him and he felt a chill accompany that look of disapproval, turning his head slightly to the left avoiding eye contact. "Well the thing is I am not comfortable with things like that to predict someone's 'future' and cause self-fulfilling prophecies."

"True, but this is just a warning of what is to come." Igor smoothly claimed as his hand reached out onto the table and drew out an entire deck of strange cards with masks atop of them, the teen feeling very discomforted as he saw the masks seemingly staring up at him while the strange man called Igor continued to shuffle the cards his eyes miraculously keeping an eye on him during the shuffle, if you could call outstretched palms and sliding cards from a deck of cards that have mysteriously disappeared into the man's sleeve a shuffle. "Tell me then, what do you believe of destiny?"

"It is predetermined and yet can be changed by the right choice of the person, yet that changes the path so there are no answers." The teen answered without hesitation, Igor looking intrigued as he stopped the shuffle and spread the first line of cards out onto the tablecloth smiling brighter than the Cheshire as his left hand hovered over the last card, Igor pausing before he continued speaking to the boy. "Normally many would disagree with your bold statement, some would argue that it is humans since we are the autonomous beings who owed their existence to no miracle but survival, while others would suggest that it is the will of a god who did a trial by fire to create destiny by predetermination."

The boy watched intently as Igor used his second hand to slip one card out after the other in the second row, the teen giving it some thought before he inclined his head at Igor. "There are people who want to pick sides so they can bicker and prove some superiority because of the fairy tale they feed themselves called the 'truth'. No god creates a people to torment them, nor do gods involve themselves to create trouble…existences of the gods are a fairy tale and so are those who call our existence survival." Igor grouped the cards together and with a flourish spread the cards out into the centre and out again each card magically slipping across the tablecloth onto a new position from the pile, the man humming in some thought as he retracted his hands satisfied with the layout of cards while he stared at the boy who answered his query. "And yet such a contradictory statement you lay out yet again, as I have said before…there are some things that one cannot close himself off to when the time has come to see."

"I am a walking contradiction, but I will not be so blinded until I become a blind leading the blind."

Igor chuckled as he gestured towards the cards on the table, Margaret watching the interaction with silence as she watched the guest's glimmers of determination shining through his frown. "I see, well then we as the residents of the Velvet Room according to the contract are honoured to have you as our honorary guest and lending our arm of service to you. In the meantime, let us see what your current predicament or immediate future will be…" Igor waved his hand over the two rows of cards as the two lines gathered together one lying atop the other before Igor waved a hand to produce five cards instead of the ten cards which he had set up, the man grinning wider.

"Let's see who you are…" A flip of the card on the far right drew the boy's attention as he followed the swift motion and stared blankly at the image of a person standing in the middle of a ruined building, Igor's bulging eyes were bulging further as he stared at the card in silence. "I see…"

"Master, is that…?"

"A card that has never existed before with such an image but the message itself and the Arcana it represents is clear to follow…it is the Tower, an image of a person in the middle of the disaster swirling around you and you unlike the ones who cast themselves off from the Tower instead throw yourself into the storm without consequence. I wonder if that fits the description of what your true self is, or if it is simply the result of the cataclysmic event heading your way that may alert you to something?" Igor mused as he snickered flipping the second of the five cards over the look of shock on Margaret's face disappeared as a normal Arcana image came to the fore. "I see that it describes you with not the Fool, but instead you are like a Hermit, closed up and searching for something with your life but you are unsure," Igor said as he flipped over the reversed Hermit revealing it to the teen who shook his head which earned a chuckle from Igor at the tense expression on his face before the third and fourth cards flipped simultaneously as Igor watched the teen shift in discomfort at the images.

"The Moon in the upright position means one mystery is going to shroud the place not in fog but simply that: a mystery. Is it someone or something that is catching your eye, or perhaps…" Igor trailed off as the teen felt a shiver down his spine as the bulging eyes lingered a little longer than it should before his eyes closed, a period of silence seeped in as the ticking of the clocks could be heard as Igor's smile completely wiped itself from his face, "It seems a harder journey awaits you, more than I thought."

"…This is rather discomforting for you to speak of me like you know my life." Igor simply ignored his jab while his eyes perused over to the next image, the grin never wavering even with the sight of a skull and two scythes sitting on either side like a message of foreboding doom. "Death...a conclusion to your story, yet it may be upright but conclusion doesn't mean death for it is only one of the ways by which your journey can end, so do not be downtrodden or discontent with the image. However you should still take great care in the duration of your journey to avoid that step, and that is what Margaret and I both are here for…to ensure that our guest is ready for the trials of the unpredictable nature of life itself, and to guide him to the self-discovery of the true self and their purpose."

"Hmm…" The teen replied bitterly while Igor didn't smile again as he waved over the last card seeing the final image to piece together the puzzle in front of him as Igor noticed the teen's face tearing away from the image. Margaret expressed another look of stunned silence as she observed the table of the final image, turning back to Igor who was staring at the cards in deep thought as he didn't blink for a few moments tilting his head a little. "Very interesting, but it seems that the Sun is reversed, the conclusion that you seek may not be the brightest conclusion you wish for. It seems that a very heavily stacked deck is against your story being one of happiness at all, but as I said before even though this may come to pass there would not be an overwhelming amount of bad without good. Do not be worried, for that is the unpredictable nature of life, and cards only tell what the outcome it assumes it will be in your current state…however as I have warned."

Igor rested his elbows on the table once more as he closed his eyes in thought, the boy in front of him gritted his teeth as Igor decided to move on from the change in mood spreading his hands out, "It would seem that as per usual the cards move around in their unpredictable nature, though I wouldn't be surprised at the results…history has shown that predictions tend to be just that."

"That contract that I signed from before, what does it…" The boy wanted to say before Igor cut him off abruptly with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Will be explained in full detail but time runs short in the Velvet Room as time marches on in your world while you are here and the time is ripe to bid you farewell for now. I wish you all the best, and you have my sympathies…" Igor concluded as the boy felt his eyes grow heavier and darkness overtook his sharp senses which had become dulled, upon the disappearance of the boy who faded into light Igor took a glance at Margaret who was still staring at the cards on the table deep in thought before the weird long nosed gentleman folded his arms. "Are you worried for our guest?"

"His destiny is intertwined with the other, and knowing our other guest this journey would be crucial and the stakes are dangerously high," Margaret reasoned as Igor chuckled at her non-answer towards his line of questioning as the man dropped the topic before he leaned back elbows planted into the table. "So you do have some concern for our guest."

"I will not deny it." Margaret said somewhat defiant at any suggestion that she was thinking otherwise, Igor humming in thought. "I see, that is good to hear. Now, if you would excuse me Elizabeth and I need to greet our second guest and guide him to unlocking his potential." Without further delay a door which hung at the back of the room opened up and Igor rose from his seat walking towards the open door pausing at the doorway to look up at the surrounding walls which held the faces of the clocks before he chuckled once more.

"What an interesting guest that we have indeed." Igor said as he stepped through the door, leaving Margaret to her own duties as the blonde woman watched her master step out of the guest's consciousness before she moved over to the couch settling in as she opened the book in her hand to glance through a few things, the attendant recalling the interaction and the cards the first card coming to mind more than the others as she shut the book mulling over the image of the man in the tower.

"That was the Tower Arcana, no doubt about it…but why did it show such a detailed image different from the Arcana's usual expression?" Normally the cards would show the relatable image to let the interpreter know the event, but to have an actual Arcana go out of its way to detail it as such for a particular guest was unheard of in the Room, no one had created such a massive response from a card regarding events. Though the more Margaret thought about it, the only way that such a response could be garnered from a card would mean one of two things: that either the card was attempting to communicate with the person via the changed image than the usual depiction of the Tower and the fleeing occupants, or that the message could mean something guest specific that Igor and her should be mindful of…the evidence was thin now, but Margaret couldn't shake the feeling that something was definitely wrong.

"An interesting guest indeed…"

* * *

Later

"Attention passengers, approaching Iwatodai station, I repeat, approaching Iwatodai station. Please remember to take all your belongings upon departure from the train as this would be the last stop for this train. I repeat…" The echoes of the announcement awoke the teen to time as he blinked rapidly the passage of time alerting him to the darkening skies, the teen scrambling to grab his bag as he heard the rumbling of the train and the approaching station coming into view. Placing his headphones down which had been blasting music into his ears for the longest time, the boy felt his ears stinging from the brutal session while he had been in dreamworld. Speaking of which…

_What the hell was that all about? That dream with Igor and Margaret, the cards…it's so vivid like it had just happened in the span of about three minutes. Did I really sleep that long from Inaba?_

"Imagination, must be." The boy reasoned aloud as he walked over to the doors joined by the remaining crowd of people who had gathered at the doors of the train, a few people standing at his side as he soon found himself pushed to the middle yet there was a considerable distance placed between the other. The teen didn't have to think about it as the doors hissed open welcoming the occupants of the train into the early night, the teen joining the small flood and made his way towards the entrance below tapping his card at the reader to pay his fare, a rogue wind blowing his way as he immediately flipped the fur lined hood of his forest green jacket over his head to prevent the cold coming forth.

"Okay, now to find the apartment," the boy reached into his chest pocket digging in to find the callous feeling of paper as he took it out confidently unfolding the paper to look over the contents for a moment before his mood began to sour. "Hmm…maybe I should have drawn a line with details on how to get there in the first place."

An hour later, 8:30pm

"Hello, I am Felice Armbruster. I was going to be in your care for the school year." The teen spoke with a polite bow of his head at the stone path as an elderly woman around his height greeted him livelily as she waved her hand at the young man. "Oh you are Armbruster, the transfer student from Inaba! It seems I am your caretaker for this school year and a half while you study, I do hope you enjoy your stay here in Port Island!"

"I appreciate your kindness once again." Felice bowed lower as the older woman let out a friendly 'tsk' again gesturing to the inside of her home as she spoke, "Oh don't start flattering me now you should get inside before you catch a cold. Can't have you collapsing on your first day to school after such a long train ride, you must be tired." The old woman shuffled in while Felice smiled joining the old woman inside, the warmth of the home immediately hitting his body as he felt a lot lighter than the heavier atmosphere he was getting from the outside, slipping his shoes onto the side of the shoe storage while he locked the door behind and hit the latch.

"Ah, thank you Felice-san, in my old age I forgot to lock the door." The old woman said with a sigh of relief while Felice shook his head in adamant protest, "No, I have been forgetful myself so there's no need to apologize. So are you living alone?"

The old woman chuckled. "Me? Not at all, I have two grandchildren and my daughter staying here but they're all in separate rooms, you'll be taking the guest room on the ground floor which is one of the more comfortable rooms there is in this house," the old woman shuffled on followed by the guest who looked at the bare hallway and the amount of space save for a phone atop an end table near the entrance. The two didn't have to walk that far as a door on the right opened and the lights were turned on inside, the old woman letting Felice step into the room his mouth slightly wide as he began to explore the room with interest eyeing the single bed that was in the centre of the room against the wall in a horizontal position while a large window with a study table with its drapes were present, a large mirror was hung next to the bed where an end table sat holding four drawers for various purposes was stacked aside for space. Nodding, Felice heard the old woman chuckling at his antics as the boy turned around confused by her laughter, the woman smiling at him. "This is the first time you've been in Japan, Felice-san?"

"Oh, no this is my second time since moving over from Europe…my parents are away for two years or so, I just needed a place to stay since it was too far for me to reach my school," Felice explained as he dropped his bag in the corner joining up with the old woman as she gestured towards the kitchen walking for a moment before the old woman stopped suddenly letting out a sigh placing a hand on her forehead. "What's wrong, did you forget something?"

"As a matter of fact I have, it seems I forgot to buy some octopus balls for dinner and the nearest supermarket is rather far to go to as well…that is rather sad, Yuki-kun loved that whenever I would cook it for him in his miso soup." The old woman sighed as Felice gestured to himself immediately when he noticed the crestfallen expression, "I could lend you a hand with that shopping trip if you would let me. I would like to repay the favour of you accepting me into your household for the year and a half after all." The old woman looked at him momentarily hesitant as she bowed her head to the floor speaking with a kindly tone at him shaking it lightly.

"I don't think that's necessary, Yuki-kun can always wait for another day and besides I imagine they would be asleep soon-"

"It's okay, I wanted to experience the city at night for myself," Felice spoke with a smile as the old woman's earlier frown broke into a sunny bright grin at the boy's insistence to the situation as she sighed, the woman hesitating once more but chose to reach into her pocket for her wallet. "Ah, what polite manners you have! If this generation wasn't so focused on living on love in the moment I would have guaranteed you that a girl would fall head over heels for you!" The old woman laughed heartily as she handed him a few thousand yen, the boy smiling brightly in thanks and at the woman's positive attitude as she picked up a piece of paper from the pad sitting near the phone using the pen to scribble a few instructions on it before handing it to Felice who took it. "These are instructions to get to the strip mall which is in the main city area near the school…be careful not to drop by Port Island Station at this time, there are gangs moving around there."

"I'll be careful, thank you." Felice spoke as he exited the house once more, the woman closing the door behind him as he walked into the street smiling as he retraced his steps once more towards the train station leading to the strip mall.

I hour later, 9:55pm, strip mall

"Damn, I barely made it to the stand," Felice said as he left the supermarket which was a distance from the food strip holding a small bag containing a few extra groceries that he had bought with his own funds along with the old woman's cash for the octopus balls, the teen earning some strange looks from other people as he strode down the street his muddy blonde hair being the outstanding factor of his appearance, the teen ignoring the stares while he made his way to the station. "Is my hair really that weird?"

The boy self-consciously rubbed his hair with his free hand, scratching the scalp as he placed his card on the reader entering the station and moved towards the platform which led to a local stop further down near Port Island station, the boy sighing as he looked at a stray strand of muddy blonde in front of his eye. If people had been judged by the color of their hair, he was confident that he would be left out of a lot of activities…for the longest time much to his amusement his look of muddy brown blonde was enough to draw unwanted attention to his person, and some even shrunk back in fear of him being a gang member or former biker boss as one of the rumors at his last school planted him in. He initially thought it was funny, but then his name got tagged with a biker gang that was hanging around the highway near Inaba and because of the noise pollution that they constantly made around the nearby neighbourhood, he had a visitor come stalking through his front door and demanding questions about their hangout. Needless to say that after coming into contact with the delinquent-looking boy and calming him down by disproving the rumors that he was involved with said biker gang who left with a foldable chair (he still didn't know why it was there, but a chill told him not to ask), Felice knew that he had to step in and dispel any bad stories regarding his natural hair. In fact his reputation grew to be the only guy with balls to talk down the infamous Kanji Tatsumi in his school, and earned a lot of respect from the guys and girls who used to whisper about his hair in the hallways back then though there were the occasional stories that he beat down Kanji in an epic one-on-one duel, that rumor followed suit for the rest of his year.

"Those were some good times…it's too bad I had to go away again."

It was too bad indeed, his parents had to work overseas despite moving over to Japan out of work obligations so they left him in a school with easy access and best education to keep him occupied for the year and a half while they were gone, the regular emails were enough for Felice to know that they were still concerned with his well-being which made the boy smile at that. However, the long distance thing was the first time he had experienced it so having his family taken away from him and separated by a continent was a challenge for him since he had not been too used to doing things on his own, and it was a miracle that his parents managed to find someone willing to take care of him for a minimal fee along with said easy access to the school he was planning to enter. Speaking of which…

"I forgot to buy the school uniform." The boy echoed his thought as he shrugged, the teen knowing he could drop in on the first day without a uniform no problem so long as he told them he enlisted into the school records and was in a rush from preparing to leave Okina city due to the sudden call up for his parents. Hearing the sound of something grinding to a halt screeching against the metal tracks, Felice looked up as he saw the train coming to a halt in front of him the teen walking through the open doors as a small crowd of people moved out into the main centre, the boy waiting patiently in the middle as a hole in the flood allowed him to move through the crowd seamlessly.

"Oof!" Or so he thought as a turquoise blur hit his chest, the boy stumbling a little as he felt shocked by the hit clutching his torso as the doors closed behind him the train moving along like nothing had happened just then, a few bystanders taking light notice before they turned back to their business the sound of the wheels hitting the tracks being the only sound. "Ow…who was-?"

The boy didn't finish as the same turquoise blur that smashed into his chest had bowed in front of him, apologetic for his plight speaking in a hurried voice. "I'm so sorry, I didn't see where I was going but the crowd was pushing and shoving and-!" Felice bit back his tongue as he waved his hands in front of the figure he registered as a girl due to the dark school uniform skirt as he protested with a wide open smile to calm the girl down. "Uh, no there wasn't an issue I have with you! I was just…well, uh…" he began to falter when the heads that were lowered turned back up at him again, making him feel nervous as he grabbed the girl's shoulders and raised her head by the cheeks staring into her.

"I said it's fine, you don't have to panic like that it makes me panic too and we'll be apologizing all night."

"O-Oh, I'm sorry…" The turquoise haired girl spoke as she nervously picked at her cuffs, the boy relaxing as he saw the heads of the other commuters lower back to what they were doing leaving the duo alone once they saw everything had died down, the girl silently waiting in her position before she whispered another 'sorry' under her breath as she moved away from Felice to another train car, the teen wondering what had gotten into her, confused by the aftermath before he decided to leave for a nearby seat this time making sure to stay awake.

"That was rather...strange." He absently commented as he looked out of the window to see the cityscape, fighting his urge to drift off the whole way there.

* * *

Near the caretaker's home, 11:57pm at night, 3 minutes to midnight

"Even with the train this house is really far despite the map," Felice groaned as he bit his lip knowing that the miso soup was probably too cold by now. He had been delayed, the train had suddenly experienced a breakdown and technicians had to show up to fix the line forcing the occupants to leave by foot as the trainline had to be shut down for the time being, the long trek down the track to the nearby station had taken up a bit of time on his end and so time flew by. Now he was running late, and the only thing on his mind was that the old woman was sitting in the house watching the hours fly by wondering if he had gotten into trouble out there…this was his first night, and the last thing that he wanted to do was worry the poor caretaker half to death. So now he was power walking towards his new home, groceries in hand as he tried to make it to the doorstep as soon as he could his eye going towards the digital watch on his wrist noting the time he was making.

11:57

"Crap, it's close to midnight already?! That poor grandmother must be worried sick! *sigh* Of all the times that I had to experience a breakdown of the railway and spend overtime at the supermarket it had to be now…on the first day no less, this sucks," Felice muttered as he walked down the empty street, the only companionship he had was the distant barking of dogs and a nearby cat mewling as he walked past Felice feeling very uncomfortable at the prospect of walking alone at night especially at such a late timing. Looking briefly at the sky, Felice stopped for a bit when he felt his breath begin to halt as he bent over nearly choking on his saliva which had been accumulating in his throat for some time, causing him to cough and move towards the nearby wall resting his back as he tried his best to not move too much as he looked at the street he was currently in breathing a little in relief.

"Oh good, the place is about three blocks away…good timing." Looking at his watch, the boy squint his eyes as his strong vision wavered under the light of the street lamp reading the numerals in his mental note.

11:59

One more minute to midnight, he was officially by all standards late already, that fact sinking in as Felice stared up to see the three quarter moon shining brightly in the sky over the city. To think that in a few more days he would get the chance to see the full moon, the thought of that brought a smile to his face as he recalled a memory: his parents and him strolling out in the park at night, eyeing the stars and finally the phases of the moon together while stories were passed to him by both mother and father recounting legends of origin while basking in the moon's glow. Felice began to stroll his way down to the house as he craned his neck side to side while he looked at his watch once more glancing back at the dark street, his footsteps bringing him to the gate where he recalled had ended in him running out on a late night errand the thought of her joyful face at having something for her grandson however made the trip worth it.

3 seconds

He reached the door, pulling down the handle and pushing the door aside as he walked in, closing the door and locking it along with the latch before he turned around.

2 seconds…

"Hello, I'm home…I brought the octopus balls."

1 second…

"Granny, are you still awake? Are you there-" He asked as he opened the door to the kitchen where he recalled seeing her last, his eyes turning away from the light switch that began to sparkle and sizzle for no reason at all before the lights that shone in the entrance and the hallway suddenly shot out plunging Felice's world into total darkness.

At that moment, the clock struck twelve. And hell was beginning to pour out in the distance.

End of Prologue


	2. Dark Hour Exposure, Awaken

Author's notes: This is the second part to the introduction chapter which is Persona FEStivities. Again, do enjoy the two-shot that I've made.

I do not own Persona it belongs to the Atlus guys, by the way…who made it a good idea to have Ken's age at 10 when he's dating Minako? You should have put him at 14, seriously that's no way to promote good morality at all man…

* * *

"Wh-What the hell?" Felice stumbled backward from the kitchen doorway a pair of eyes staring blankly at the coffin which stood in place in the middle of the room the ominous red becoming too much for him to bear, his hand slipping the plastic bags in his hand and let it tumble onto the ground behind him, the boy feeling his eyes blur slightly as a nauseous feeling came over his senses bile rising to the back of his gaping mouth. Stepping away from the doorway, Felice felt his limbs grow still once he had reached the entrance, the teen turning back to the kitchen door as he placed his shoes on his feet and walked out of the door sharply slamming it behind him before his calm façade dropped completely for ragged breaths and the loud thumping of his heart against his chest.

"Wh-What's going on here!?" Looking back at the main door with fear, Felice felt panic rising in his heart and the urge to just scream was tethering over the line of what sanity he had left from the sight in the home. Fighting it down as his voice was only making shivers and gasps, Felice staggered away from the source of his discomfort placing a hand out into the air as if he was pleading to the air for support a heavy foot crunching against the stone while his free hand trembled stuffing itself into his jacket pocket warily looking at the dark atmosphere that took over his surroundings. Staring at his phone screen, the teen's heart dropped further as he glared at a symbol of a phone with a strike across it the indicator seeming to taunt his attempts for a way for help.

**No service**

"No way, don't tell me this blackout's affecting the whole district?" That train of thought made him more nervous, no, it was beginning to terrify him out of his mind, and that was beginning to show by the paler shade of white that he was carrying as he turned to his right just where the main cityscape was visible over the horizon of houses…and lurched at what he was seeing, his breath hitched in his throat as he wiped his left eye which was bulging and throbbing from the shock of it all.

What he was witnessing was the arrival of a tall spiraling mass sticking into the skyline like a spear with misshapen edges which Felice couldn't make out due to the amount of darkness, however simply by staring up at it filled him with a sense of unmeasurable dread and terror at what was exuding from the structure. A chill ran down his spine while he noticed that the night sky once black and abyssal seemed to take on a darker shade of red and green, the combination scaring him half to death the more he focused on it and it took a force of will to tear himself away from the tower, pinching the skin of his palm to snap himself out of the bout of hesitance.

"Ow! Okay, I'm wide awake…and nothing has changed," Felice hoarsely said aloud before he realized the futility of making such a thought known to himself falling silent. _And there is no service out here, maybe if I get closer to the city center there might be-wait, why am I heading towards the damn tower anyways? I should be walking to the north of it, hopefully I can get better forms of reception there instead of standing around like a fool…argh, I don't get any of this! Why's the damn sky red, what's that strange tower doing here?!_

Shaking his head, the boy turned back to look forlornly at the house before he fought back his fears, Felice walking briskly towards the gate and unhooked it slipping outside into the dark streets which had lost all source of light adjusting his jacket by unbuttoning the top two buttons from their slots revealing a white undershirt. _Strange, was it always this hot out here? It's supposed to be colder…_

Giving a final glance around, the boy walked away into the dark streets feeling a ringing in his head becoming rather profound with what sounded like a chant luring him somewhere.

* * *

Meanwhile

"It is time," Igor said with growing interest while Margaret stoically closed the book she was holding in her hands hiding a page where a tiny memory was stored, locking it away as she stared up at the balding man with his grin unfashionably threatening to split his face in a horizontal cleave feeling no sense of discomfort at the man's expression. "Time, you mean for my guest to arrive towards us once more?"

Igor nodded, smiling as he raised his hand sweeping it over the table to create two cards, his grin still holding its place flipping one particular card out from the two and stared at a blackened image. "That is correct, and it seems that this time our dear guest, unlike before when he first came to us, is no longer on his own." Margaret shifted in her seat on the couch, her analytical eyes catching on to his words as she looked surprised at that, the woman turning her head towards the cover of her book which laid closed.

"If he can summon his Persona this quickly then…he may be a valuable asset to the journey of our primary guest." Margaret said softly while Igor gave a chuckle at her slightly tense expression raising a brow at her reaction as he did so, "It seems dear Margaret that you have underestimated the power of our guest once again…as have many others in my service have done before you. However, I would tell you that this time even with such an intriguing guest you would not find the answer to whatever question you're seeking now." The words seem to hit home for Margaret, the attendant shuddering as she looked away ignoring her master who just took pleasure in her avoidance before he lightly chided the woman.

"Dear Margaret do not worry, whatever it is you seek shall be made clear to you when the time is right. But for now, I need your focus to be solely on our guest for this time… he will need all the assistance he can get," Igor smiled as both occupants looked to the door where their guest was meant to enter, each minute ticking away before Igor continued as he eyed the blank faced card suddenly forming an image onto the surface, his eyes brimming with intrigue. "It is rather rare for such a young contractor to be part of our world even when he doesn't have that power within him to do it…this would be interesting indeed."

* * *

With Felice, near the Iwadatori dorms

"This is far from the city center but there's still no reception…" Felice murmured as he walked on by the row of buildings that were lined up his eyes trailing all over the windows with each passing second becoming a dim hope for his reception as a splash alerted him to the wetness which was forming on his feet and soaking into his shoes. "What the-is this…blood?!" Pulling his feet out of the puddle, Felice stood dumbstruck at the blood puddle which pooled like water the sight nearly sending his breath into raggedness while his heart pounded again, his head now searching unintentionally for other puddles only to retch at the sight of a small river trickling down the street Felice instead deciding to move away from his current position, instead breaking into a panicked sprint down the street his sense of direction being his guide.

Fifteen minutes of running around in a patternless sprint towards wherever north was, Felice found himself going nowhere after his brief panic slowing to a grinding halt when his burning legs gave out on him forcing him to quit, the teen placing his hands on his kneecaps breathing heavily while he slapped a hand on the stone wall for support. "What's going on here…first the lights, that coffin in the kitchen and now puddles of blood and a tower jutting out of the main city center?" Felice couldn't even laugh or think as he tried to register the amount of weird things that had just occurred in the span of an unspecified period of time, and concluded that his mind was drawing a complete and utter blank at the moment.

"I shouldn't be thinking about that, but yet something's…wrong with that structure." Felice said as he moved up the stone steps his mind in a light haze but aimlessness was the prominent expression he held now as he wandered to the left and took a seat near a playground, the teen deciding to rest after the mental taxation that this situation was beginning to create his eyes uplifted towards the greenish sky.

"_Fate has made you a rather interesting guest,"_ a familiar voice cut his thoughts off as he stood up pushing himself up while a look of recognition followed suit while he spun his head around the playground his instincts on high alert as he hesitated for a moment and spoke up to the air calling out the name which was lying on the tip of his tongue with a gulp. "I-Igor, is that you? How are you even-?"

The voice of Igor chuckled and Felice could immediately picture an image of the balding man giving him his unnatural grin under his long nose and arched intertwined fingers sitting at the table in his mind's eye, the teen feeling a bit uncomfortable then as the voice served as his distraction from the current dilemma that he had. _"Well my boy, the reason I have called out to you is simply because it is time. Now, if you could please turn to your right, you'll see what I mean."_ Felice turned hesitantly, the sound of shoes scraping up small pebbles and the crunch of the sandy ground was heard as he noticed something beside the slide, a shining light alerting him to something as he walked past the slide coming face to face with a velvet door standing a little above his head, the entrance creeping the teen out a little-no, it was extremely frightening for Felice who noted that the door was literally _in the middle of air floating slightly above the flimsy sandpit_. Feeling a bit hesitant, Felice stared in wonder rooted to the spot as he heard Igor speak again in the back of his mind making the decision for him.

"_Excellent, now if I can only have a moment of your time," _Igor's voice was the last thing that Felice heard as his eyes were shielded by the door opening for him bathing the teen in a flash of bright light, the teen expecting to be knocked out before something tugged at his hand pulling him into the source as he stumbled halfway through his hands shielding the fall as he entered the Velvet Room nearly losing his balance while he scrambled to his feet. Igor in the meantime was grinning widely at the clumsy entrance during this time Margaret was standing next to Felice her right hand still gripping the invisible air where Felice's wrist was before he unceremoniously fell to the ground. "Are you alright?"

Felice groaned as he looked back at Margaret, the teen meeting her golden eyes for a moment before he felt his face brighten and grew hot at the cheeks the teen chuckling nervously out of reflex while he looked aside at the floor instead, "Huh? Uh yeah, I'm fine…thanks for trying to help me inside."

"You are my guest, it is not something in need of thanks if it is part of my duty as an attendant," Margaret replied oblivious to the effect she was having on the teen who gave her a shy smile hiding his face further by looking at the floor. Igor's chuckle brought him out of it as he shot the man a glance that told him not to say anything about what had happened, but Igor was clearly taking this without offence as he smiled at Felice's embarrassment speaking to the teen once more. "It seems that your destiny has come earlier than I have anticipated…it seems the most important guest is not due for about a week. No matter, this would mean that you would have one week to prepare yourself for what is to come in the future events…now if you would do me the pleasure of having a seat so we may begin to answer some of the burning questions that you have in your heart."

Igor gestured to the couch where Margaret sat on the right her wavy blonde hair facing him as Felice nodded dumbly, his body following the gesture and sat down on the couch nervously looking over to Margaret who noticed this and offered a light smile of comfort. Needless to say Felice immediately managed to get a grip on himself and his mind cleared almost instantly, the teen giving her a nod of thanks as he looked at Igor attempting to sort out his thoughts the room grew silent for a few minutes before he even managed to open his mouth. "Igor…I wanted to ask you a few things."

"Go ahead and ask, after all…we are here to help and support our guests in their endeavors as long as it does abide within the rules of the contract." The man urged him on as Felice nodded.

"Hey, about that contract…why do I not remember signing it in the first place? I mean, if this were a recent thing then I would have remembered but yet no matter how hard I think of it I can't place a single memory where I have stepped into this room much less have spoken with you about a contract," Felice admitted as he slumped in his seat resting his head against the comfortable cushion of the headboard, the wood creaking under his weight. "Igor-san, I wanted to know if…there might be something preventing me from remembering."

"I don't believe I would be able to tell you, only the person who has followed his true self knows the answer as to why he would sign such a life-changing contract and ask for our services…if you cannot recall it, perhaps it is due to fate that has blinded the reasons for you doing so. Of course, I cannot speak on behalf of Fate for it is a human concept that is rather vague as is destiny."

"I see, in that case then I'll forget about it for now," Felice replied as Igor nodded for him to continue as the teen pointed towards the door armed with his next question for the mysterious man, "so what was happening out there? What were those coffins, or even that tower in the distance? I was just a new arrival but even I knew there wasn't such a tower that existed in Iwatodai Port Island."

"Ah, I was wondering when you would get to that…but yet another thing I unfortunately cannot tell you in detail." Felice's eyes rose in wonder as he stared at Igor. "Can't, or won't, or you are unable to explain to me?" Igor didn't flinch as he chuckled in his seat at Felice the man silently praising the perceptiveness of that inquiry, Igor releasing the hand bridge he had formed to look at Felice his grin shrinking only by inches.

"It is your trial or the source from which the hurdles in your future are thrown at you…yet the unpredictable nature of the trial can both be terrifying and yet comforting to some, but it depends on what you think about it and feel about what is to come. Is it a burden for you to carry along so many other past trials you hold on your back," Igor noticed Felice tense up at this but continued on as if he didn't notice, "or are you going to stand as proudly as the first card of your future?"

Felice shook his head, "I told you beforehand that I don't believe in stuff like that. It's just cards and self-fulfilling prophecies with only the person's feelings and mentality guiding them."

"And yet here you are, in the throes of the mystery that is starting to form all around you despite your choice to avoid it. What is happening to your world, what is the significance of the tower…why did you even come here in the first place?" Igor spread his arms wide as he looked at Felice with a glimmer in his eyes while he spoke, Felice feeling a little irritated but did not rise from his seat and storm off instead giving Igor an impatient stare. "The truth is that while we of the Velvet Room act as guides, that is all we are in reality, guides to show the light in the darkness but not by much…you'll understand it one day, dear guest." Igor watched as Felice kept his mouth tightly shut, the boy looking a little disappointed but instead of gritting his teeth and clenching his fists Felice gave out a sigh. While it was true that he expected Igor to have some kind of answer to the question of his contract much less what was happening outside, he was tugging on a slim rope of hope that at least something could be said.

"But surely there must be something despite your limitations to…"

"Felice-san," Margaret spoke up beside him grabbing his attention with her stern chiding tone as he flinched visibly frightened by her display, "if we knew all the answers ourselves, your journey would have been for naught…but there are many things that can change even when the outcome of your story is decided. And what would be the point of partaking the contract if you were going to have an easy way through, life is unpredictable like the cards and this is the same for your journey with its own multiple endings that can intertwine or divert from the proper path, this is the truth of the contract by which you have signed that speaks of your responsibility for your actions alone in the course. You have been given autonomy over your own destiny through that contract, one which many would yearn for but not realize it was given until signed in paper." Seeing Felice fall silent, the Velvet Room attendant watched as her guest blinked contemplating something for himself before he nodded reluctantly.

"…I do not agree, but that is a valid point as much as I would like to argue it isn't so."

"Much as I appreciate that you are finding your way past the surface of the fog, may I suggest that we get to our true purpose for summoning you," Igor announced as Felice nodded though half-heartedly as he watched Igor draw out two cards on the table, catching his interest as the cards were face up showing two blacked out images in front of Felice as he continued. "It is time to awaken to your power, the one that is now gifted to you."

"My power…?"

"Yes, the power that lies within you. Since you are very close to the unlocking of the door, I felt it was best that your awakening come swifter without much delay and so me and Margaret decided to fetch you as soon as we were able to though I must say, attempting to conjure a doorway into your world at this hour is…difficult," Igor explained with a wave of his hand as the two cards faded away into the palm of his white gloves, Felice watching the cards intently before he blinked. "Awakening of my power? How are you planning to do that, and what makes you think I am ready…"

"Readiness is not about the individual but the choice, as you are well aware." Igor stated mirthfully as he subtly threw the boy's words about destiny back at him though the subtle pass was mostly fallen on deaf ears as Felice tried to register what he was being told. "So what do you mean by that?"

Igor found a smile crawl further up his face scaring the teen a little before Igor gestured towards Margaret who was putting on a sterner face than he had seen her do previously just as Igor made his plans known. "Why, my assistant will be helping you to unlock your potential…by a duel of sorts."

"A d-duel?!" Felice sputtered out as he stared at Margaret who was not bothered in the slightest as she stared at her opponent. "Do not worry, in fact I would be more concerned with your own safety than mine especially without your abilities," Margaret interceded for Igor who kept silent observing the conversation as it unfolded in front of him not involving himself while Felice was staring with his mouth slightly open in protest but Margaret's glare shut whatever words he could prepare. "I will not take no for an answer, this is the only way that is the safest of the other options besides the more direct approach."

"W-Wait, you want me to fight her? That makes no sense! What does fighting her have to do with unlocking that power you were talking about…why can't you just wave your hand or something?" Felice turned to Igor who simply smirked in return. "I do not see why not and as I said before it is up to the individual on choice of how he uses his power, if this is meant to help develop your potential then by all means." Felice slapped a hand to his forehead while he heard chuckling from Igor his exasperation made known to the man who didn't seem to let it go, "I can't believe you are going along with this, but are you even certain this is going to help me?"

"As Margaret and I have both agreed upon, it is not a fight to the death according to the rules of the contract that you have signed so there is no reason to panic about being killed. Think of it as an exercise to help you train as well as unlock the untapped potential inside of you to bring out the well of power that still sleeps within you…do not tell me you have not been experiencing a voice calling to you from the depths of your own mind?" Igor asked, Felice about to protest when he felt a chime in his head just as he felt a sting in his brain forcing him to tense up in his seat the boy freezing in his position as what was a feminine voice calling out of him.

_Thou art I…_

"Didn't you hear the power calling to you just now? It is the depths of your soul crying out for release, and it is now or later that you unlock it." Igor addressed as he flexed his stiff fingers into the folded position while Felice felt his fingers dig into the skin of his scalp ignoring most of his surroundings. "I…"

"Do not tarry, guest…for time marches on in your world and the longer you wait, the dangerous the road ahead will be if you aren't prepared," Igor's words seemed to carry weight in them like he was pushing Felice forward as Margaret rose from the couch moving towards a velvet door that laid secure in the back of the room different from the one that Felice was entering and opened the door the attendant looking at back at him with the stoic expression that was present since Felice met her.

"Please, follow me."

* * *

Change of POV

As the guest reluctantly exited with Margaret out of the room, Igor turned his attention away from the door and began to concentrate folding his hands in a bridge for his nose while thinking deeply about what had happened earlier before he asked Margaret to find where their guest was and make the preparations. Indeed in his years as a guide never had he seen a marvelous and intriguing sight as he did while he was shuffling several mysterious cards which had appeared in his deck, their portraits blank and a dark fog obscured whatever that was held within them. While interesting, Igor had already guessed as to what they were and the imperativeness of sending for the most likely source of it all became paramount to a priority and upon explaining it to Margaret who normally wouldn't question his requests due to her overwhelming sense of duty, the attendant was surprised at the theory but kept her thoughts to herself the reaction being an expected one.

"It seems our dear guest has another kind of potential that isn't seen in other guests…" Igor hummed as he eyed the two black cards that were spread in front of him, the servant of Philemon waving a hand in the air gesturing to a point in the invisible swirl before a book emerged from the middle of air the dark brown cover falling to rest above the two cards and the front flap opened up to the page which was signed by Felice himself, Igor's eyes reading the lines carefully taking his time to peruse and poke around the lines before he paused over the signature.

Igor leaned back in his chair, the silence of the room save the ticking of the clocks were companion to his thoughts before Igor suddenly broke into a wry grin. "It appears as though there is no mistake…" Shaking his head, Igor eyed the sentence near the end which had caught his eye, the man looking back at the two black cards which now began to disappear from the table Igor relaxing his arms on the armrests looking at the front entrance to the Velvet Room.

"It seems that even that power has rejected our dear guest, the first I've ever heard of it. Could it be the terms of the contract that have refused our guest the power of the Card?"

* * *

With Margaret and Felice, Velvet Room section

"We're here," Felice looked up as he watched Margaret open another velvet door and entered the boy joining the attendant as the door shut closed behind them leaving them in an open air arena though what was the outstanding feature of it was that rotating blocks almost like they belonged to a Tetris game floating all around him giving an unearthly feel while Margaret watched his interested face. "This is the private arena that we reserve on rare occasions like this, I am afraid asking about your comfort with this would have to be ignored."

Felice looked around confused before his eyes fell on her. "What do you mean?"

Margaret's composure was like that of a steel wall unwavering or had any signs of faltering as she opened the book which she normally carried in her hand the sound of pages flipping incessantly filled the air while the attendant spoke her tone turning from sternness to a slightly more commanding than her usual voice. "It means that I am going to be your opponent for this round, rest assured I will make this as painless as possible," Margaret spoke as she drew out a card from within the book staring Felice down who had begun to pale at the implication of her words as she looked at him with glaring yellow eyes.

"You've got to be kidding me…I still don't believe what you and Igor are saying, I fight you? Is there no other method by which you can do it?" He desperately tried to worm his way out of this before Margaret shook her head decisively her frown growing deeper.

"The stress of being threatened should be more than enough to spur you into doing what Igor plans for you." Margaret tapped the ground with her feet as she grabbed a long handle with her hand drawing out what appeared to a long retractable baton tossing it towards the feet of Felice who was still standing mouth hanging slightly from the seriousness of the words. Shaking his head, the boy reached out and grabbed the provided weapon looking at it and back at her who had prepared two floating cards in the air standing ready at their master's call as Felice gestured with the baton towards Margaret non-threateningly while his mind attempted to work its way out of the situation. "Margaret what makes you so sure that this would even work, I've never been in a real battle before-"

"Agilao."

"Wait a minute-GAH, WHAT THE HELL!" Felice yelled out as a large pit of fire shot up in front of his face throwing him on his butt and back, the sixteen year old rolling away when another fire ball burst out of thin air where he once laid the smell of burning fumes choking his lungs. "*cough* *cough* WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"

Margaret didn't stop however, the attendant throwing the second card out in concession with the first one, the creature that Felice could barely see thanks to singed eyebrows and lashes disappearing behind his interrupted vision before a chill told him to get up gripping his baton harder and tighter as he tried to use his ears to listen in on anything while his eyes regained their vision so he could concentrate-

"Bufu!"

_Thud! Crack!_

"Argh, DAMNIT!" Felice felt the ice crystals tear through his back and cheek, the icy shrapnel causing stings all over his back sending him to the floor as the rest of the temporarily formed ice block fell away into nothingness, Margaret in the meantime had switched back to the first card her golden eyes stern and watching with a measure of disappointment at the display. "It seems that you're not even putting up a good fight, how will you unlock your power if this is all you're going to do?"

"I seriously detest hitting anyone, and you're expecting me to change overnight…that's going to go over me fantastically," Felice scolded as he felt his breath fall short and his throat tightening from the chill of the Bufu spell his body feeling light as he eyed her dangerously, the baton in his hand once providing a security blanket around him was now shattered and broken unable to be used as he watched Margaret stare at him with those unnerving golden eyes. "Ever thought this is kind of an overkill, two monsters to do your bidding while you relax comfortably there never occurred to you how disturbing this is?"

"If you can talk, I suggest you reach out to your spirit to survive. Agilao."

_Thou art I._

Felice felt the voice grow a bit louder, as his panic was proven by the spews of fire which followed him like a hound on his tail Felice barely dodging and rolling out of the way while being hunted by Margaret who changed to the ice spells creating a chain combo which immediately threw him to the ground, small rivers of blood poured from his forehead which was the second victim to the dreaded Bufu which he was now growing to loathe. Getting up with his palm slapping the floor, Felice was about to try a running charge but failed as Margaret had already caught on to the glint in his eye and decided to show no mercy unleashing an unexpected Garu from the floor the force of the wind throwing Felice into the air and sent him crashing onto the marble floor that Felice could have sworn his arm was broken by then. This time he couldn't really get up, the force of the elemental attacks against a human being could only be dodged for so long without having singed clothes and various scratches and shards embedded in your skin after all, and for Felice whom the voice was echoing louder while gripping the baton lying on his back he was completely at the mercy of the attendant of the Velvet Room.

"Damn it, is she really going to kill me?" He asked himself as he saw Margaret switch out another card while giving him a stare that chilled him completely. He didn't need to ask apparently, Felice lifting himself up to sit on the floor as he saw the culprits responsible for his plight moving away from him as they disappeared, Felice feeling his energy run dry as he slapped a hand onto the marble. _Damnit, first I get into this city and then I got myself into such a mess…now that I think about it, I never got the chance to fight back at all nor had the chance to do anything significant in my life so far. My life turns interesting the moment this happens…what a sucker life is._

"What the hell am I even saying? This isn't what I should be thinking right now," Felice asked himself aloud as he felt the voice inside him speak louder, the boy looking up at Margaret who was poised to kill him at a moment's notice. Staring at her glare which had not softened up in the slightest, Felice shook his head from the fear that was crawling down his spine while he knelt forwards leaving his right arm which had been injured with the sleeve burned off completely leaving burnt skin in its wake falling at an awkward angle the voice becoming more prominent.

_You are I, and I art thou…_

"Who…who are you?" Felice asked the air as his surroundings began to slow down, Margaret already calling the third card as the horseman Eligor appeared his red armor and sharp tipped spear pointing to the air staring through the visor of the helmet at Felice who was still dazed by the voice, the horse slowly making its way towards him before it raised the spear high in the air but not to strike down their foe with it.

"Megido."

_Reach out…call out my name…_

"Huh?" Felice asked as he felt the voice once disembodied becoming more distinct and more…feminine. Feeling a rush of emotions, the boy stood up as he suddenly took notice of the new creature in front of him with the uplifted spear pointing upward to show a large cataclysmic ball of destruction charged and ready to fall on him. Laughing, Felice brought himself to stand as he stared critically at Margaret feeling a sense of regret as he brought his baton and only working limb to hand, "Just when I started to hear voices and go crazy, this happens…life's kicking me in the balls like it always does."

_Hear my call, and say the words…_

"…" Felice felt the overwhelming fear of the charging Megido spell hanging above head, Eligor staring mercilessly in his eyes as it waited for him to make his move the boy feeling his forehead sweat profusely at the sight of pure untainted power, however instead of moving away he felt his feet take a confident step forward much to his brain's shock as logic injected into his thoughts demanding that he run as far from the place as possible, and each step brought him closer towards certain death.

_You have taken the first step, now say it._

Stretching out his hand, the boy felt a warm sensation kick in as fear melted away while he took a confident stride raising his baton out towards Eligor who brought down the spear sending the Medigo spell collapsing down onto him, but not before Margaret could hear the voice of the boy rising as he yelled through the dark abyss of the spell's onslaught which had crashed into the boy, consuming him in the blackest pits and smoke.

"Come, Letho!" Felice's lips curled into a deeper frown, resisting the urge to smile as the battle steeled his mind the burst of power surrounding him in a fire pit in his stomach while staring down Margaret who had narrowed her eyes at the sudden display of power. From here on out, the attendant was beginning to focus on defense though Eligor remained on the battlefield for now…a strong urge to test this new power was intriguing to her, and she was not going to be wasting it. Giving a silent order to Eligor to continue the fight, the horseman reared the mount and prepared for a charge at Felice while Margaret looked at the new presence behind him, "So that is the strength of our guest…interesting."

Meanwhile Felice's eyes had just opened when he felt no impact nor indication that he was being smashed into the ground, the boy looking around to see no trace of the large attack. A hand on his shoulders quickly tore his attention away as he looked behind, coming face to face with a tall woman about three heads above his height dressed in a dark cloak over her dress with a hood obscuring her face save for her mouth and eyes which gleamed dully at him while a small twitch of the lip was all he could focus on while his mouth ran dry. Whether this was real or not, Felice couldn't deny beauty when he saw it in front of him as he wiped the corner of his mouth which was beginning to drool, "Woah…that was close. Thanks a lot Letho."

_You have done it, my power is now yours, _the hooded woman spoke with what appeared to be a ghostly smile as she turned towards Eligor the horseman now on guard when he noticed the Megido spell had been completely absorbed before charging at the two, Felice felt the gears in his brain move a little as he instinctively called for Letho who looked sternly at her new opponent. "Hmm, Sukunda."

Eligor stumbled slightly as it felt the debilitating effects of the tactic impeding the charge from hitting Felice who moved out of the way and made his way over to Margaret who had already thrown another card into existence in front of him. "Cu Chulainn, Torrent Shot," Margaret ordered as the newly summoned Persona blankly held his spear outwards in both palms of his hands, before grabbing the shaft and immediately launched a hail of piercing strikes which Felice barely blocked and avoided as another name came into his mind just when the piercing strikes were overwhelming him. "Shadow Haven."

Immediately he felt his body sink into the ground the boy feeling a little fearful from seeing the effects of the skill but he was soon out of harm's way behind the Persona, his mind conjuring up another skill on autopilot as he felt Cu Chulainn flinch. "Mudo."

"Change, Eligor." Margaret countered as the horseman appeared in front of her and jabbed the lance at Letho the boy feeling his chest implode with a sick feeling of nausea as he stumbled backwards trying to focus his eyes on the target behind the tall armored creature. Looking to Letho, the woman gestured and cast Sukunda on the horseman again before the boy felt his body sink into the ground as he caught a glimpse of Eligor missing the strike. Rising from the ground he realized how close he was to Margaret who had already ordered Eligor to do another charge, the boy immediately scurrying to come up with another skill only to have one more option in his arsenal. "Bufu…" Eligor reared back as the ice attack suddenly came into his face forcing him back from his master as Margaret widened her golden eyes, Felice closing the distance and placed the baton at the base of her neck a pause in the middle of the arena came over both Persona-users, the two Personas pausing in mid-combat as they watched their masters a few meters away from one another as Felice relaxed his body his hardened glimpse becoming softer as he gave a weak laugh dropping the baton.

"I give up…this is rather pointless, I know I can't best you even if I tried as of right now." Margaret nodded at his conceding to the fight as she called back her Persona, the attendant looking at a fourth card which held Titan within it for a second but closed the book tightly as Letho came to her new master's side kneeling down at his broken arm while Felice felt the numbing sensation of his adrenaline leaving him and the result of the ice shards embedded in his arm and back stinging him with more intensity. "Ow…I guess those damn shards hit harder than they should, the bastards."

"I could fix that," Margaret said as she opened the book once more. "Leanan Sidhe, Diarama."

Felice felt his arm suddenly come to life as the deep gashes and holes that littered his back began to heal though the holes in his clothes remained, the boy standing up as he stared at Margaret in thanks Felice taking a step forward before he felt fatigue come to him. "Uh-oh, guess I really went all out for the first time huh?" Felice asked no one as he fell forward, Margaret grabbing his left arm and hooked it over her shoulder looking at him in concern whilst she guided him to the door her eyes falling to the tired boy. "I apologize if I was being a little too rough, but I had faith you would pull through this trial."

"Really?" Felice doubtfully spoke as he recalled the Megido spell nearly annihilating him on the go, the boy's sarcasm wasn't lost on Margaret who closed her eyes in some thought before she replied. "Well, there was a point where I figured it might happen…your future is only a prediction like the cards, there was the possibility of death and ending your journey. You wouldn't be the first to do so."

Felice shut his eyes tightly feeling sleep overtaking him before he got the last word out to Margaret who was becoming a blurry image. "Great…good to know I guess. Now if you would excuse me, I need time to rest up."

End of prologue part two


	3. March: Welcome to Gekkoukan

Persona FEStivities

Author's notes: The pairings are pretty much non-existent at this point but there will be changes, though I don't want anything too predictable…what a dilemma.

Enjoy the chapter, by the way uploads will be rare due to the school year so just appreciate whatever there is to read.

So to answer some questions of why I did what I did, the first being the way that I designed the character…is he going to be the same old gritty protagonist that have been given a second chance at life? Well, I can only answer half of that question unfortunately but then again I will do my best to sate some but not complete curiosity. The protagonist is going to be surprisingly brighter without the whole mask thing coming up, at least that is the plan…he's not happy and sarcastic for a reason that I can think of when I was performing character design. I know it makes it boring somewhat but there are problems for him, the memory thing and the Velvet Room thing…yep those two.

So besides him being brighter, what else is there for him? Well, his abilities are classified for now…will be revealed or it already has been if you've read the chapters so far carefully. And because I want special abilities in the Persona lore to stay special, with only a rare few who signed a contract getting to receive it, and in my opinion Yuki (the protagonist of 3) is more than enough considering his role in the story but that doesn't mean that our new protagonist is completely helpless.

That's all I can say, forgive me if the answers are vague but that is the point of the story to say it. There will be a long time skip with some parts in the middle to explain certain things he experienced in the month of February…though I wouldn't go into detail as the adventure starts in late March and then goes onto the main storyline.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything by Shin Megami as it is rightfully Atlus and the Shin Megami fella…if he exists, so yea, I'll have to Wiki that.

* * *

4th February, Wednesday

"Screw you fever," the croaky voice of one Felice Armbruster chided and groaned as he lifted a weak finger attempting to check his strength only to wearily watch his finger and hand fall flat on the bed covers, the sight causing him to sigh in pain while a knock to the bedroom door alerted him to someone just as the voice simultaneously announced themselves into the room.

"I'm coming in," the feminine tone made Felice relax in the covers the warm towel on his bare forehead had run out of water to drip down his skin the teenager groaning when another round of throbbing sent him reeling, the sound of footsteps coming into the room stopping over his face blocking the sunlight that was seeping inside the room. "How are you feeling, better than yesterday?" The voice belonged to the daughter of the grandmother who owned the household in Iwatodai, one Ayaka Minami the mentioned mother of two children the night he first arrived and had gotten introduced to the subsequent day when he became first confined in his bed, the woman was full of authority the first time he met her when he had come down with a slight headache pinning him indoors almost rivaling that of a matriarch in terms of the feeling that she gave off. While a head shorter than him, the 28 year old woman was both motherly and yet stern to the point that she fussed over him when she found out he had fallen sick, though it wasn't overtly done which Felice could somewhat understand himself…in a country where women working single were the type to raise eyebrows and start unnecessary rumors according to stereotyped images of gender, suppression of presence and action was a tactic that many employ to keep themselves away from attention though to futility. Ayaka Minami was no different as being the target of ostracized comments and put downs, the weary bags under her eyes and the slightly ruffled dark hair with small strands sticking out were evidence of hours of slaving for minimum wage (he read it up in a few articles overseas and compared the treatment in his school) and being harassed verbally if her short temper was any indication of it.

"Like I just puked myself still," Felice answered almost bitterly as he recalled the first night when he arrived home and just threw up in the bathroom for thirty minutes straight, the answer gaining humorous approval as the blurry image then took their face away from his own as the cold touch of a palm left his forehead tilting his head to the side. "Well, I'm still fighting fit…just immobilized that's all. Thanks again for the care."

"I see, fight hard."

Felice's eyebrow twitched for a second but calmed down as he nestled the offending covers away from his steaming body, the fever had dried up even his sweat as he winced at the cold touch of the weather. "You know, that is kinda depressing the way you said it…now I don't feel so good again, like my health just took a kick when it's down on the ground shivering in the cold."

"That's what you get when you were up so late as well as worrying my grandmother, and what was with the scratches in your clothes? Did you get into a fight with the gangs around Port Island already on your first night here?" Ayaka narrowed her eyes at the sick boy while she retorted chidingly. Felice blinked slowly his eyes still heavy from sleep, the fever had dulled his senses and slowed his perception of time for the past three days now and he wasn't getting any better since then. His condition had worsened from a simple instance of upset stomach to that of a fever in three full days, as if a string of bad luck was following him wherever he went…now that he thought about it, he wasn't too sure what he did to deserve any of the crap that was happening him to him these past few days. He had been thrown into a world of strange since his arrival three days ago, with wacky fortune tellers and a weird midnight hour where blood and coffins littered the entire place along with being nearly killed, he couldn't exactly wrap his head around it all. Turning his head away from the window, he stared at the cupboard where the outline of a pillow being tossed on the floor was jutting up as if crawling against the wall the white fluffy head cushion giving him the idea of floating into the sky.

"I wasn't, like I told you the holes came from a bad fall, I was knocked off the stairs by some drunk who couldn't tell left from right," He insisted while silence answered his alibi the pause was enough to cause him to suck in some air before he blew it the breeze of cold wind irritated his pained forehead. "Please close the window I don't appreciate having cold freezing wind causing me more headaches than necessary…"

"*sigh* It's that or you stay in the bad air of fever dream…you'll feel worse if I don't, trust me," Ayaka walked over to the side of the bed and collected the pillow dusting it off before she tossed it back on the bed at the teen's legs, the mother of two walking towards the door before she paused in mid-exit inclining her head back to the bedridden teen. "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you: the school faculty called us up yesterday while you were sleeping, they wanted to let you know that the day you were going to tour the facility was changed to the end of the month due to some quarantine for medical sterilization of the campus or something like that. Anyways, you have until the 31st to yourself until then so get well." Seeing that Felice had said nothing else, Ayaka moved out of the room leaving the door slightly ajar to allow more ventilation her footsteps becoming slightly distant as two loud thumps broke Felice out of his morning daze followed by loud voices.

"That must be the grandchildren…now that I mention it, I haven't met them yet." Felice wondered aloud before his brain throbbed, the pulsing pain forcing the teen into another fever dream, Felice grunting as he fell asleep again for the umpteenth time today, pretty sure that another day would pass as he groaned one final time just as he drifted off to sleep.

_One more month…school tour. Oh joy of joys._

* * *

7th February, Saturday, kitchen

He was feeling much better now, the muscles that were once held down by illness weighing on him like a chain was unshackled as his body deemed itself functional and healthy as he chewed on his cereal, the crunchiness of the box being the only sound as he heard a shuffling noise from the doorway to the kitchen. Felice didn't have to wait long, the door opening to reveal the old woman whose expression brightened upon seeing the boy up and about as she approached him at the table, "Good morning Felice-san, I trust you are well?"

"Mmhm," Felice spoke as he chewed on the cereal placing his spoon in the bowl while he spoke with the grandmother leaning his head against the palm of his hand feeling the dullness go away slowly as his body fought back the remnants of the fever smiling lightly. "Yep, I feel like I can do a few things around the house since I can move now…uh, that is if you let me."

The grandmother smiled as she nodded in appreciation of his offer moving towards the kitchen pulling a few items from the fridge which were ingredients, gesturing to Felice as she did so and then at the stove while a grin was on her face. "Well then, can you cook?"

* * *

2nd March, 2009

It had now become a month, and that was the day that he was scheduled to go and visit his future school for the year on one of the final days of the school year just in time for the break which would descend at the beginning of March. He had been busy since his sudden strike of fever and stomach upset, the aftereffects in the days following the 7th were minimal at best and he was grateful for that one stroke of good in his recovery although during that period of time the school was unable to attend to him due to the small cases of a new illness that seemed to be affecting citizens though so far no source had been found. Since then the school had entered a bit of a quarantine period by which no one was allowed to attend school just in case of infection while medical teams were dispatched to secure the area and ensure it was healthy, Felice keeping a constant watch on the news due to the free time he acquired.

Since the little skirmish he had against the attendant he had noticed that he had changed, not in the physical sense anyways but in some aspects that he never thought possible. For example, he had been able to prepare old dishes which were from Greek cuisine without difficulty (though a few times he had burnt the kitchen stove and several items in one instance) and to further test it, began watching Greek shows on his laptop made him realize that he no longer leaned on the subtitles of English for it, instead he could watch raw episodes of shows despite having no prior experience in such a thing which would have been nice, though his cooking was still rather horrid despite the knowledge to do so. Rightfully worried for his health (as recognition of Greek had given him a scare along with being able to memorize old recipes that couldn't be cooked in the current time period of technology), he had searched up the name of that woman who had aided him in the battle and clicked on Wikipedia for the condensed version of the name's origins and what he discovered was more than enlightening for him and although it held no good for him in the academic sense, he felt his common knowledge get slightly better with the new facts.

Today though was a special exception to his daily life, the boy found himself standing in front of the school which was to be his future academic teacher while wearing a grey shirt with a crimson shaded pocket covered by a blue windbreaker, the waterproof material flapping in the air while the sky blue hood stayed on covering his head protectively from the cold weather a hand on his right sleeve where a watch laid strapped to his wrist sat staring up at him.

"Hmm, the welcoming committee should be around here somewhere…right?" The boy said hesitantly as the cloudy weather blotted out the sunlight from coming through and warming his body, the jacket was doing its job of deflecting the wind from passing through his body though the chill was getting almost ridiculous. Pulling his watch out, the teenager checked the time to make sure he was on time only to frown at the numerals on the digitized screen before he groaned out loud, the empty courtyard being the only witness to his plight as he looked back at the open gate with disdain.

10:45am

"This isn't funny man, this isn't funny at all…" Felice said in regard to the time as he felt almost cheated. The schedule was said to take place after school which was around 10:30am today due to the last day of term, however for the last fifteen minutes he had been standing in the courtyard watching trickles of students walking by him while he felt absolutely lost. The stares didn't help either, and the fact no one actually helped him to locate the faculty office was a detrimental experience to the supposed high academic institution that promises to be aware of the needs of their students. Felice looked to the campus and back at the gate as the last of the small crowd of students wandered off elsewhere to grab their lunches, the minutes of standing around and waiting was beginning to be ridiculous before he made a decision storming for the entry doors to the school, murmuring under his breath a string of complaints about time.

* * *

Gekkoukan High shoe locker area

"Why didn't I think of this before? Could have saved me some lost warmth," Felice spoke as he looked around the boring interior eyeing the shoe lockers that laid in rows, Felice looking down at the wooden platform before he stepped on it the teen shaking his head out of irritation. Grabbing his headphones which had no music playing, Felice grabbed his player and pressed play placing the headphones on his ears allowing the track to play the boy smiling a little as he decided to walk to the right the occasional student giving him a stare as he walked down the hallway though he was deeply immersed into the song at this point to care.

_I got more tail than that PetCo, you faker than some Sweet'N Low  
Yeah, you got some silverware, but really are you eating though?  
Are you eating though? Nigga, are you eating though?  
Breakfast, lunch and dinner's for beginners, you ain't even know  
Never catching cases, why they faces look so e-m-o?  
Watch a hater hate me, wanna play me like a piano  
My architect know Japanese, yo' girl, she jocking me  
No hands like soccer teams and y'all fuck boys like Socrates  
You niggas ain't copping these, niggas ain't looking like me  
Nah, I ain't checking I.D. but I bounce 'em with no problem  
Tell 'em, Problem (Problem!)_

"I wonder if I could still remember…" Felice said as he gave a small spin to the chorus his heels making a squeak as they rubbed against the smooth tiles of the school floor, the teen noticing a set of double doors on his left the prospect of entering becoming appealing to him as he followed his interest. Opening the doors, he was greeted by the cloudy weather once again the boy changing the song and lowered the volume as he wandered down the long open aired walkway his eyes turning left while he came to a halt spying a tree planted in the middle of the large lush green garden which made up the space of the center, plants and flowers were placed in a uniformed line that stretched in a semi-circle around the tree with a small path cut out in between with bricks laid inward to lead to the other walkway giving it a surreal feeling as Felice walked over to the tree placing a hand on the bark.

"What a well-grown tree…the gardener deserves praise," he said as he walked around it his eyes were in slight fascination of the tree's prominence before leaving the area, moving into another section of the school which stretched to two stories high. Entering through Felice found himself greeted by a small group of ten students in the main hall who turned to stare at him, their eyes in wonder and interest as Felice looked around the room ignoring their stares while he walked eyeing the white design of the hallway as whispers trailed behind his back when he had gone a certain distance from them.

"Who's he?"

"He doesn't look like a student…"

"What is this guy doing here?"

Felice eyed the main hall before he moved on up the stairs, the students in the main entrance didn't stop him as he reached the second floor the boy removing his headphones as he turned off his player looking up at the small plates which dictated the name of classrooms for senior-year students Felice blinked as he scanned each nameplate for nothing in particular, the teenager intent on continuing his exploration in the empty hallway.

"Huh?" Felice suddenly felt a disturbance in the peaceful air of the school, the boy sensing Letho stirring to life within him the woman seemingly searching for something that he couldn't see, the boy swirling his head left and right while he muttered out in the midst of the quiet air. "What is it, Letho? Did you just sense something?" The muttering of Greek was all he could hear as he turned around, the boy narrowing his eyes towards where he had just ascended his mind processing the words which were spoken by his Persona the boy sighing as he leaned against the window closing his eyes in thought before he thanked Letho Felice placing his headphones onto his ears once more turning on the music player, the boy standing around for a while before he pushed himself off the window and walked back the way he came.

"Of all the times where I figured I could just lean back and take a long break this happens. Ah well, another Persona user huh…this should be a most interesting experience for me I guess, but this smells like trouble already if nothing else."

* * *

A little while back, Second floor Student Council Room

"Well, that is it for the term…you're all dismissed. And enjoy your well-deserved break everyone. By the way, Hidetoshi I need you to come with me for one last business before you can go."

"Of course Mitsuru-senpai," a boy with combed slicked hair to the back of his head and a yellow armband around his black school jacket replied giving a small tilt of acknowledgement towards a girl dressed in an elegant white blouse with a large red neck ribbon around the front of her blouse and black skirt with buttons around her waist, her red flowing hair giving off an air of superiority as she gave a nod towards the remaining council members who were packing their bags eager to leave for the school break, the two taking their leave first closing the door to the Student Council room before heading towards the stairs on the right. Once they were alone, the girl named Mitsuru turned to Hidetoshi who was frowning to himself while his eyes cast down in thought about something as the redhead spoke to him with a light hint of concern, "What's on your mind, Hidetoshi-san?"

"Hm? Oh, it's nothing important…I was just reviewing some of the suggestions placed by students regarding our school attire, and they were most unhelpful." Scowling, Hidetoshi folded his arms as the two Council seniors walked down the stairs to the main hall. Mitsuru gave a light nod the topic of discussion a few minutes earlier was still stuck a little in her mind as she shook her head at the various suggestions that the school loosen the regulations regarding uniforms, opting for casual wear instead of a uniformed appearance the redhead sighing. "Oh that, I was surprised by the amount of growing support it had gathered when you brought it up just then…though I have to agree, there isn't much time for students to complain about things like a change in uniform when their studies should take precedence."

Hidetoshi seemed to agree as he brightened up considerably, the opinion of the redhead giving him a smile unfolding his arms. "I am pleased to know that, you aren't our President for nothing Mitsuru-senpai," Hidetoshi spoke with praise and it was well-deserved for the redheaded president. Since coming to the school, Mitsuru was the one president who took over a very inefficient student council when the seniors left the position open, in fact Hidetoshi recalled when he first arrived to Gekkoukan High it had been a mess with a relaxed enforcement of school protocols allowing small punishments to go mostly unnoticed by the council especially the discipline committee. When Mitsuru took over, she recruited him due to his efficiency over his 'by the book' attitude and he had owed a lot to her for giving him both the seat on the council and providing him with an area of school life he enjoyed best. Suffice to say, Hidetoshi held respect towards Mitsuru for her careful recruitment of talented individuals and delicate understanding of the school's inner workings to make the student council a more respectable force.

"Speaking of which, Hidetoshi…about our last matter of business, it is regarding a new student that has come to us in February this year on a short notice. We are supposed to be showing him around the campus today and introducing him to the year schedule, I was planning to take the Treasurer with me but with Chihiro being easily nervous around guys still," Mitsuru paused as Hidetoshi nodded grimly frowning as he understood what she was getting at the stern boy keeping silent his facial features relaxed slightly when silence came between them, pulling his sleeve back to look at the watch on his wrist reading the time before pausing. "Mitsuru-senpai, what was the time that we were supposed to meet up with the new student again?"

Mitsuru paused as she took a second to think before she replied, "I think it was after school." Hidetoshi's earlier attitude turned to a mini scowl as he looked at Mitsuru's back with a bit of concern in his tone while he shoved the watch back in the confines of his sleeve. "It's been close to twenty minutes, nearly 11am."

"What? We're late?" Mitsuru turned back with a gasp of surprise to see Hidetoshi having his scowl back on his face, the stern boy looking at the entrance before he looked back at Mitsuru with a shrug not wanting to jump to any conclusions. "Perhaps he is just waiting outside the school for us, though I imagine that he would be very impatient now that we're running late in meeting him."

"Perhaps…we should go check the meeting spot near the gate, that's the first place to start." The two walked out into the main courtyard of the school where the gate laid and found no one standing at the designated meeting spot, the redhead having a bit of concern while Hidetoshi was already frowning further as Mitsuru looked a little distant. "Where is he?"

"No idea, we should go to the faculty office and ask his guardian if he's skipping," Hidetoshi retorted with a bit of haste as he power-walked back into the school building Mitsuru following the boy as she kept her eye out for anyone along the way. As they entered through the glass doors, Hidetoshi immediately left her side to walk towards the faculty office intent on following up with his own suggestion letting Mitsuru stay behind in the shoe locker area muttering as he disappeared down the hallway, the redhead staring to her right.

_I should go look for him than stand around, perhaps he may still be in the school, _Mitsuru thought as she walked towards the club rooms keeping an eye out for the sign of the student the sound of her feet clapping against the tiled floor being the only companion as she stared ahead turning the corner of the hallway before a male voice caught her attention to its presence as the sound rebounded against the walls of the school filling it with life.

_Do you know where the wild things go?  
They go along to take your honey, la, la, la  
Break down, now weep,  
Build up breakfast, now let's eat  
My love, my love, love, love, la, la, la_

"What is that?" Curious to this new development, the redhead heard the thumping of a piano the unnatural sound attracted her to a distant beat from one of the club rooms, Mitsuru deciding to check it out as she reached the music club's official room the student council president about to open the door before she heard a few voices speaking behind the sliding door which she could identify as the members of the club as they were planning to have practice today.

"Whoa, he's really good!"

"Where did he learn to play like that?"

"His hands are rather fast!"

Mitsuru slid open the door stepping into the music club, keeping her presence a secret from the rest of the room's occupants as she heard the piano playing in a rhythmic and upbeat fashion the echo of the instrument filling the room while she heard the voice singing along with the piano's keys thudding and letting out chords.

_Muscle to muscle and toe to toe  
The fear has gripped me but here I go  
My heart sinks as I jump up  
Your hand grips hand as my eyes shut_

_Aaah, aaah, aaah…_

The piano came to a halt as Mitsuru politely entered the ring of awestruck students, the ring erupting into applause as Mitsuru approached the piano ignoring the change in the air as the students' attention shifted from the piano player reacting to her presence with whispers and a sudden calm on the earlier commotion, Mitsuru not missing a heartbeat as she went around the large grand piano to come face to face with a teenager with short muddy blonde hair dressed in a windbreaker jacket and a music player loudly playing the song which had been stopped by his finger on the pause button staring up at her with his prominent red eyes, the glimmers in them showed her a look of energy not seen in many people in the school. "Hello there, I was attracted by the sound of the music room so I came here to enjoy myself…I trust I didn't cause you too much trouble," the boy spoke to her before he paused putting a finger to his chin tapping the skin looking at her with a second glance. "Uh, you are the student council right? The escort that was supposed to show me the campus at the gate this morning, aren't you?"

Mitsuru paused looking at the man's music player which he collected and placed into his jacket pocket while he asked, the headphone wire hanging loosely at his waist with a smile on his face staring at the redhead who decided to take this small hiccup in stride. "Yes, I am sorry that we were so late in noticing you had arrived. The fault should lie with me, I was too busy doing student council work to notice the time that we were supposed to meet you." Felice almost groaned closing the piano with a little force as he looked exasperated by the apology there were times that the manners of Japan were humbling and all, yet at some points in time where Felice really didn't understand the meaning behind numerous apologies for something that wasn't so serious like being late for a student tour around the school grounds. Waving his hand flippantly, Felice dismissed her apology with a lighthearted tone the boy yawning as his eyes began to tire slightly, "No it's fine to be honest. I was enjoying myself before you guys came along, you didn't ruin any experience for me by being late…"

"Mitsuru-senpai, if I may have a word!" One of the male students approached the Council President with confidence gesturing to Felice who had gone over to another section of the music room exploring the instruments with a small following of students behind him, the display of his musical prowess catching their attention again while he picked up a set of sticks and played with the xylophone the sound of high keys echoing through the room in a melody. "I was wondering, since the new student is well-versed in music if I could apply an early entry into the club. It's been too long since we've been getting any new talents to add to the roster so…"

Mitsuru looked thoughtfully before looking at the club president. "Well, I cannot exactly approve of that…you already have a date by which you can invite new members over do you not?"

The club president nodded though slight disappointment was evident at the possibility of not acquiring such rare talent, "Yes of course…I was simply thinking if I could invite him over to some of our meetings for a trial run when the new semester rolls by. Well, thanks for listening." The club president spoke politely as he walked over to the new student, Felice had by this time moved on to the drums and was experimentally tapping different areas of the drums with his hand hearing the different pitches before he felt a hand on his shoulder distract him.

"Oh, are we going for the tour?" Seeing the student council president nod, Felice removed his hands from the drum and turned to the club president with a smile. "Your instruments are in good condition…I might just drop by sometime."

"R-Really, that would be great if you could come over! I wouldn't mind if you observed us in late April." The club president spoke with energy as he shook Felice's hand, the transfer student nodding as he joined the student council president at the entrance and waved back at the music club before the sliding door obscured his view. Sighing in contentment, Felice covered his mouth as another yawn escaped his throat the boy stretching his arms while hearing the girl address him.

"So you're Felice Armbruster? The transfer student we were getting from Inaba?" Felice nodded in confirmation as he jutted his arm out towards her. "Yep, but I rather much like introductions that involve both parties knowing who the other is."

Mitsuru blanched, aware of the loss of courtesy as she closed her eyes and stretched it out to meet his in a light shake. "Mitsuru Kirijo, Student Council President and third year student to Gekkoukan High School, Armbruster-san." Felice had to gag on his saliva, this woman was way too classy for him as he nodded dumbly before he felt nervous as if his body was going into a reserved mode when he came into contact with her hand noting the care and slight callousness which led him to believe she wasn't as fair skinned as most people believed from her face which radiated perfection, the transfer student unable to help himself as he blurted out the next words.

"So Gekkoukan High has its share of intellect and beauty along with class…reminds me of home already," Felice noted how the professionalism from Mitsuru's face enveloped into a light red flush at the comment, the teen noting that down in his personal memory bank regarding her. _Mitsuru-senpai, third year in Gekkoukan High School and a high class female of possibly 18 years…flushes at special comments made to her person, check. _"So uh, when are you going to let my hand go?" Felice snapped out of his brief profiling as he released the grasp on her hand, his hand still lukewarm from the cold touch lightly freezing his fingertips which were growing numb turning his head to the side to avoid eye contact due to embarrassment.

"Oops, we should start the tour I suppose." He said as Mitsuru nodded, her professionalism returning instantly while he followed her back to the main hall hearing a string of Greek in the back of his mind, the boy barely hearing it but the message was clear as day.

_**Do not trust.**_

* * *

Twenty minutes later, school gate

"So how did you find our school?"

"I would have to wait and attend the school semester before such a judgment can be passed," Felice replied towards Hidetoshi the disciplinary president which he had been introduced to when they arrived at the main hall, the boy had apparently thought that Felice had ditched the entire tour and played hookey but that changed when he saw him tagging beside Mitsuru. To summarize he spared himself a potential scolding on his first day, however further interaction led him to believe that he had just only escaped the first half of the torture session. Hidetoshi's expression was stormy throughout the tour and it wasn't his frown but more of his picking words apart whether intentionally or unintentionally judging by the looks he gave him whenever a comment about Inaba or comparisons were given between the two schools and he would interject. It was only with luck for Hidetoshi that Mitsuru was there to act as the buffer between both of them, stepping in when she could sense the tiniest bit of apprehension from Felice.

Hidetoshi smirked at his reply. "I'm glad that you think that way, so I expect you'll be on time in April?"

"Oh yes, definitely…the first right?" Felice asked as Hidetoshi grinned, happy that he remembered that particular detail. "Yes, that is the date. Well I need to get home soon to help my mother out with some chores, so I will take my leave…enjoy your semester break, Felice-san, Mitsuru-senpai." Felice watched the boy walk away from the gate down the street on the left, his smile giving way to a neutral look as he relaxed the tense muscles in his shoulders that he unknowingly held from speaking with the disciplinary council member.

"Exhausted so quickly?" Felice blinked as he registered the other presence beside him shaking his head. "Not really, I was thinking about visiting the city for a while before I even head back…there must be something to do here, it's a city after all."

"Have you not managed to explore the city?" Mitsuru asked curiously as Felice nodded the two walking out of the school gate. "Not exactly, I just arrived and fell sick almost immediately when I was coming home on my first day and spent the first month just moving around the residential area. I haven't really touched on the cityscape."_ Not to mention the big freaking tower that comes up at midnight, that kind of makes you very avoidant from the city itself._

In the month that he had been spending with the family, he had begun to be more self-aware that there was something going on at night besides the obvious. The images of blood rivers and coffins after all were too sickening to just forget, and the fact that he spent every waking hour in the times he was sick wary of being possibly approached by anything creepy…soon after his recovery, he took the first steps out into this strange world of green and red filled with all sorts of symbolic meanings pointing towards death for the second time since his first disoriented adventure. It had taken courage for him to even step into the city area where the tower laid ominously over the horizon of the residential zones after a week of total avoidance, armed with no one but Letho at his side and a kitchen knife he took from the grandmother's collection on the rack alongside a bag with snacks and energy drinks to keep him fed during the midnight phenomenon.

"I see," Mitsuru said thoughtfully the two falling into silence for a bit before Felice decided to move the topic forward. "Well I guess that's enough about me, what about you? I was rather curious when I heard the name Kirijo, it sounded very familiar but I couldn't place it anywhere."

Mitsuru nearly tripped as she looked at him incredulously for a second. _He had to be joking right?_ "You don't know about the Kirijo Group?"

"Can't say that I care or heard of this Kirijo Group. Should I be concerned with anything in particular?" Felice asked with a shrug of his shoulders the slight nihilism in his tone made him cringe inwardly as Mitsuru recovered not saying anything regarding his reference to the company before she turned her head to the side her long hair hiding her expression from Felice. "N-No, never mind then…forget that I said anything."

"Huh? Okay…weird." Felice said as he decided to follow her wishes, the teen filing that too in his profile before he felt the silence becoming dreadful to bear for both of them. "Actually now that I think about it…"

"Yes?"

"Are you free for an hour? I was hoping to get to a café to relax my tenseness and you look like you need a drink, but if you can't make it..." Felice proposed as he felt the discomforting air lift around them when Mitsuru replied hesitantly, "Well I was actually planning to do some study and other business that requires my attention…"

"Ah, I see. Well then, if you're that busy then I won't waste your time." _Damn, I already got shot down huh? Well not that I was expecting her to open up so freely just by looking at her and especially now when we've just met._

"Well, this is my stop…" Mitsuru said bringing Felice back to reality as he looked to the left where the redheaded girl had left his side and moved up the stairs to a Western styled building, Felice's mouth turning into a small 'o' as he ruffled his muddy blonde locks nodding as he gave a tiny wave of goodbye watching the council president push open the door disappearing behind the door without so much a farewell. Felice stood rooted in the spot for a few more seconds before he shrugged, walking down the road towards Iwatodai station by taking another route the boy focusing on the next priority on his need to do list, pushing the day's events behind him.

"Now, about that café…"

* * *

POV change

"Where've you been, Mitsuru?" A boy with silver hair in a red vest over his school uniform lowered the men's magazine he held in his hands onto the table in the middle of an assortment of expensive couches and chairs, his eyes lighting up in greeting when he noticed Mitsuru walking through the door closing it behind her to let out a sigh, catching his attention. "So what's got you all tired?"

"Nothing, just having to deal with more work than usual from both school and work," Mitsuru replied with a bit of weariness in her body language as she sat opposite the boy, her eyes closed for a quiet rest as she felt some of the tension leave her body. "The number of cases are still small but rising in number week by week. The chairman will be coming along to the dorm soon in the evening while everything is being prepared."

"Hmm," the silver-haired boy hummed in thought as he brought the magazine back on his lap glancing at her while his eye browsed the magazine article but not completely paying attention to the content, the silver-haired teen listening to the silence before he spoke up. "Speaking of which Mitsuru, I'm thinking of going on active patrol again for the next few weeks until April to make sure there aren't any of them poking around the city until our new guest comes over."

"Akihiko…" Mitsuru wanted to start but the teen shook his head flipping over another page. "I know this isn't a game, but you have to believe when I say this month has been rather strange. Haven't you noticed that there aren't many of those things lately? To be honest I'm worried about what's going on, it's too quiet," the teen muttered as Mitsuru held her tongue her tiredness was holding her back from speaking to Akihiko about being careful the school council president opening her eyes as she rose from her seat. "Mitsuru!"

"Go ahead, I have to admit this is getting a little too suspicious but please keep yourself safe when you venture out…Takeba isn't that prepared and we need you around too." Mitsuru replied as she walked towards the stairs, her voice echoing over to Akihiko who fell back into his seat, the teen breathing a sigh of relief at her reply before he went back to reading the magazine though his mind was beginning to wander elsewhere while he skimmed over an article with his face on it.

"A new potential coming in April for the year…this will be interesting."

End


	4. Knightfall, Preach, Welcome Makoto

Persona FEStivities

Author's notes: There is another timeskip towards late March, this is near the end of the month as well so it is rather close to the start of the storyline so that there wouldn't be a small saga dedicated to a month and I don't think any of us have the time to know what someone does daily.

I had a spelling mistake, the name was meant to be Leto for Felice's Persona…this would be changed in previous chapters to accommodate for the mistake soon. *update*Another mistake came up, the game starts in April on the 7th so I'll be accommodating that mistake too.

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona, but Atlus does own this fanfic and I know it.

March 29th, Midnight

Port Island city at night was dangerous, known to the local denizen as the one period of day where from the station to the local mall nearby was home to one of the seedier locales beside the Boulevard further away, but people sought out refuge not by pleasure and comfort but one that is tamed towards brotherhood, gangs, and small bouts of violence. Though to one particular denizen Felice Armbruster who stared out at the tall spiraling tower in the distance just a few blocks away from his position in the middle of a deserted street filled with coffins chained at the waist locking whatever that was meant to be hidden, the gangs who roamed the Port Island underground was the least of the worries which were on the young teenager's mind. Carrying a small bag on his back, which held his assortment of food and drink which he prepared for tonight from the supermarket just before midnight had struck so he could walk out of the store with no regrets for stealing, Felice scanned the road up ahead and turned around shining his small flashlight pen into the darkness feeling the stale air chill him to the bone this sight of coffins and blood running in splatters and rivers were a common sight in his life now since the day he discovered the power which Igor had explained to him as Persona or the mask by which a person uses to shield himself in the face of life's troubles, so it had been eloquently put. Discovering the power had put him on a road that he did not anticipate coming from his life, and even now the 'purpose' and the missing memory of signing the contract were stuck on his mind like a rewinding tape.

"Even in the night, Port Island seems to have more troubles than they're worth," Felice murmured as he turned to the right feeling a hand grab his shoulder the teen stiffened slightly before he looked at Leto who had appeared at his side her hand outstretched towards the building as she closed her eyes in concentration. Felice meanwhile took a sip from an energy drink can which he had gotten from the vending machine nearby as an additional energy booster for himself even though he had rested enough for the trip tonight, Felice didn't want to take chances with the creatures he was hunting tonight.

"Anything you could sense out here, Leto?"

_**One behind us, it has originated from that way. **_

"Hmm, okay…I'll check it out, thanks." Felice said as Leto disappeared from view, the teen thinking for a moment before he turned around and headed back the way he came his hand going to the leather holster strapped to his thigh which held a simple sharpened kitchen knife he had taken from the kitchen like he always had. Turning the corner on the right, Felice checked his watch again despite the futility of the effort in doing so seeing no movement on the hands the teen sighed as he withdrew his hand to his side letting Leto's senses become his guide. "Okay, let's see where you take me to Leto."

Ten minutes later, near the Iwatodai dorm

"Here, of all places? Is it nearby?" Felice spoke confused by the destination he arrived at, or more like staying behind a corner which overlooked the stretch of road where the dorm laid along the way. Though this was a common route that he had taken, the boy was not about to take chances with the way things were set up now as he looked down at his wristwatch which had stopped right on the midnight mark which had occurred not long ago.

_**Presence is nearby, but is avoiding the dorm.**_

"Hmm, tell me Leto…anything specific about the presence, is it a Persona-user or one of those things we've been fighting?"

_**Not Persona.**_

Felice nodded at that reply, the teen hearing her voice fade away but not before pointing him towards the residential park as Felice peeked out of the corner to spy something that was becoming a little common on his trips down this road for the last month, the teen almost letting out a swear when the door opened. A head of silver hair in the distance at the steps of the dorm appeared from the entrance, joined by a uniform and red sweater vest with leather gloves closed the door to the dormitory building stepping down to ground level while Felice sensed the familiar bad feeling from the silver-haired stranger opting to go around the teen instead of meeting the person head on. Walking around the corner, he pulled the hood of his beige colored shirt over his head as added protection the cold air began to chill his skin Felice cutting through the alleyways nearby inclining his head towards the right.

_The park can be reached from here, I just need to avoid that guard dog and I can reach the place where that thing is, _Felice thought as he briskly made his way to the park his head constantly on a swivel for the silver-haired teen who had been showing up for the past few weeks since his first day on the school tour during his forays into the city, the teen had not spoken to him yet but Felice felt like tonight was an ominous time to be out and around in the town. However, he had no choice…there was something that he had to do tonight and Felice knew that it would pose the biggest threat if it were to be left unchecked even if another Persona user was around on patrol, especially when he's had this power.

"I wonder what could be there that's been growing in power for the last few days…anyway, I'm supposed to explore, not to get into fights I can't involve myself in...this is getting rather troublesome already." He murmured as he walked towards the source, his alertness sharpened as he watched for potential ambushes on the way.

* * *

The park, twenty minutes later

It was the second time that he watched Shadows feed.

When he had first seen it, the teenager had nearly puked his dinner seeing the poor victim struggle against something overshadowing his entire body before he literally melted in front of his two eyes, the teen barely registering the first crowd of creatures that attacked him the first time he explored the city in a week, and he could hardly fight them off. A horrible experience he was reliving again as he watched a few small Shadows crawling around a pair of coffins leaning against a park bench, the chains that held the coffins together at the waist usually fell to the floor like a restraint keeping the creatures away from the contents within...and it was the first time he was introduced to the fact that he wasn't special when it came to this special point at midnight, that normal humans themselves could transcend the barrier known as the coffins and break into reality, at the cost of being food for Shadows who consume these intruders of the night world. Right now the same thing was about to happen, and sooner or later as he watched the last of the chains being dismantled and pooled around the coffins the victims would appear but it would be far too late when it did…which was why he was ready to jump in at a moment's notice the moment that would happen.

"Leto…Garu."

The burst of wind was the next sound in the small area, the gust blowing the slimy looking masked creatures away from the coffins. Choosing not to directly show himself, the boy continued to direct orders to Leto who was standing ready with her hand outstretched to the group of Shadows. "Garu!" The Persona agreed wholeheartedly scattering the group with another burst of wind before a Shadow had caught on to his trail as Felice silently called for Leto to Bufu it, the Shadow melting to the floor just as a kitchen knife stabbed the mask killing it. Looking up at the coffins Felice could see the two occupants falling out of the coffin their senses alert and awake, the couple becoming aware of their new environment as fear soon gripped their hearts.

"Wh-What's going on?! What is this?"

"Why's there blood on the road?!"

Felice ran up to them, the teen's presence scaring the couple as he was in front of them armed with a knife looking frantically at them the man pushing the woman back as he stood between the both of them, both adults frightened as Felice lowered his knife sheathing it. "Stay back from us!"

"Calm down, I need you two to stay where you are you'll attract more of them if you begin to run!" Felice warned as he heard a growl behind him, the teen barely rolling aside as a burst of Agi exploding near his shoulder singing the fabric of his hood and shirt the heat causing him to sweat. "Damnit, not again with the fire tossing headdresses, get lost you bastards!" Throwing a Bufu or two back in their faces Felice used the knife to finish them cleanly as he tried to stay with the stunned couple, his back facing them as the adults took the chance to escape Felice looking back to see them go.

"No, that's not it! Get back here!" He uselessly called out to the pair but to no avail just as more fire blocked his path, the teen gritting his teeth as he used Bufu to knock the weird floating masked creatures back, their aversion to the counter element killing two of the five. Felice took this time to run back only to have an Agi hit him square in the chest the fire sending him reeling back as Leto protected him with a Bufu killing the aggressor, the teen standing with his knife ready before a loud female scream came from behind followed by a loud high-pitched scream before the sound of flesh being squashed overcame the small battlefield as Felice turned around, the Shadows attacking him suddenly stopping their assault and retreating from the teenager leaving him alone in the park while he tried to discern the origin of the sound. "What the hell was that, it scared them away...if that is right then that means the couple is most likely dead, consumed by one of those things."

"RRRAWWWARRRAAAHHH!"

"!" Felice's instincts went into overdrive as a loud inaudible yell was heard scaring him to death as Leto came to his side ready to combat the newcomer before he felt shivers wreck his body. "What the…this creature is letting out an overwhelming oppressive atmosphere! I can't beat it, not in my current state!"

He had to run. That was what his body was telling him as he heard the low gargle similar to that of a mount, the teen spying a large silhouette coming out of the darkness where the couple had supposedly escaped through Felice feeling dread creep onto his senses as the air grew thicker and more oppressive than before.

"Shit!" The teenager cried as he turned on his heel and ran.

* * *

Ten minutes later, 40 minutes into the Dark hour

The teen scrambled to his feet, two dirtied hands palming the tree trunks and bushes pushing them aside as he darted out onto the main path of the park his breathing ragged all the while watching his back before leaves were thrown at him from his right. "GGGRRWWWAAAHHAAAHHH!" The inhuman war cry filled the air as Felice barely dodged for the umpteenth time for the last ten minutes, his hand hitting the pavement of the park while steel whizzed over his head smashing into the ground, sending brick shrapnel flying into the air with cracked webs spreading out into the red dust colored surface. The teenager tumbled aside the knife nearly flying out of his hand but he kept his grip on the handle tightly, Felice staring back in anger at the approaching creature rising to his feet vision blurry and sweat running down his forehead the hood of his shirt thrown back at the chilly air petrified the sweat from proceeding further. "Damn, you're a really tough one than the other small floating headdresses I've been fighting around here for the past month."

"RRRRWWWARRGGGAAAGG!" The inaudible war cry sounded as the moon reflected the image of a mounted knight standing above his height, the golden mask staring blankly at him while the legless steed which seated the dark armored knight atop of it floating in midair gave a neigh to the night sky, the knight raising the large steel sharpened lance in triumph the action causing the wind to swirl around it before an energy discharge dissipated into the air. Felice lowered his knife as he watched the knight cautiously, the teen and his opponent circulating around one another like predators in the small open space of the residential park as the stale tension was silent upon the proceedings, Felice stretched out his hand as the knight readied the lance the floating armored steed huffing while focusing on its target.

"Come, Leto."

"GRRAAAGGGHHH!" The knight charged, Felice not bothering to dodge as he immediately felt the ground suck him up from the attack the memory of Eligor and his charge running through Felice's mind as he called Leto to his side the woman throwing Bufu at the knight throwing the rider off as he reared his horse to shield him from the ice shards giving Felice the opportunity to act upon the small distraction provided by throwing his hand out. "Garu!"

The knight shook from the impact of the small torrent of wind the steed stumbling despite having no legs as Felice get more distance from the knight, Leto coming to his side as he knelt on the ground. "Dia," he instructed as he felt the soreness from his one-sided fight with the physically stronger opponent staring at the ground placing his hand on the bricked surface feeling his knees go weak as he rose to stand on his two feet disorientated by the shockwave of the lance which hadn't been able to completely cure his exhaustion.

_Elemental attacks don't even faze him or cause him to fall, so what is the next tactic? This is all that Leto can do right now, if this guy was like those floating masks with headdresses or those slime looking things I would have ended this fight before it began! _Felice growled mentally as he narrowly rolled out of the way while a lance smash into the brick road again throwing him to the side against the nearby tree his bag taking the blow for his spine instead he could feel the snacks and several plastic bottles of energy drinks crash into him a wet feeling of water against his back made him throw the bag away from his position, the temporary shield having no more adequate protection for him as he used Shadow Haven to dodge out of the way the steed crashing into the treeline and into several others behind the splintered trunk the teen escaping from the charge feeling exhaustion come over him as he sheathed the kitchen knife into his holster, the teen sighing as he closed his eyes in thought the growling of the knight getting ever closer to him.

"Changing tactics," Felice resolutely spoke just as the knight burst through the bushes calmly dragging the tip of the lance to dig into the dirt the steed letting out a puff of air while the armored warrior let out a sound that Felice could barely distinct it as a laugh under the mask, the unintelligible taunt at his lack of physical ability to match the warrior evident in its movement which had been less tense than before. The muddy blonde haired teen shaking the trembling from his hands as he fought the urge to panic and run before this mighty opponent clenching his fists as he steeled his mind, "Hope this works, Sukunda."

"GRRAAWWRRAR!" The knight screamed out at the debilitating effect, the creature yelling in anger as it did its charge towards the teen the horse using all of its power to zip across towards the Persona-user intent on spearing him before he could react, but Felice was faster as the words rolled off his tongue naturally while the familiar swell of power in his head tore through his mind. "Leto…Gar-urk!"

However fast he recited the spell and had launched it in succession, the lance however had distance and range for its user who towered over Felice's height. What resulted was the wind spell barely throwing the rider off his mount nor did the legless steed even flinch from the move meant to disorientate it from its intended course, the teen feeling the backlash of the powerful blow stunning him backwards as the low endurance of Leto caused him to feel nothing but pain sending him to the floor as his flesh felt it was being intruded upon. "GAH!"

Red became the new color in his vision, the teen struggling uselessly against the embedded lance in his shoulder the floor running with blood on the brick road while adrenaline worked its way into his nervous system dulling the pain he felt coursing through his skin his mind attempting to establish contact with Leto but to no avail as his mind flew into a panic, losing his concentration from a mixture of the pain and fear of the knight who dug the lance a little deeper seeming to enjoy his suffering. "AAARGGHH, you son of a-GGGAARRRHKKK!"

The knight didn't wait for its prey to finish as the armored titan lifted the teenager by the lancetip raising the weapon up to level with its body, the cries of the boy filling the air while the knight let out an inhuman growl mixed with…laughter? Felice couldn't tell from the sound but the tone suggested well enough to the human that it was enjoying the screams and helplessness of its prey the knight letting out a cry as it slowly turned the lance to a vertical stand as its victim was clawing the lance the sticky blood allowing his shoulder to sink into the lance easily, Felice's hands slipping against the hard surface as he was barely conscious.

"I think that's quite enough of that," a new voice interrupted the two as the knight was thrown aside from the corner of his eye, the lance dropping to the ground along with Felice the teen unable to fight the pain stemming from his wound the impact of the brick meeting his head caused him to black out for a few seconds, the teen barely able to open his eyes as the screech of the knight fade from earshot the sound of steel thumping to the floor was the only thing that was heard before a sound almost like a suction was heard indicating the fight was already over. The boy hardly had time to register the fact he was saved when he heard the same voice speaking to him as a silhouette towered over his fallen body, the teenager's consciousness slipping but he barely held it while he coughed the taste of coppery blood faintly wafting under his nostrils the disgusting smell causing him to wince.

"What a show, you do have such marvelous talent with that Persona of yours." Felice felt the effects of the Dia stitching up the minor cuts he had though his shoulder was injured rather badly the spell unable to fulfill its role, the teen rising to sit on the floor as he finally came face to face with the stranger as his blurred vision began to clear from the Dia to reveal a silver haired, shirtless tattooed man with golden eyes smiling at him while a revolver was tucked securely behind his belt near the left pant leg of his form fitting jeans his hands still clapping slowly while Felice saw Leto pause. "And such a beautiful power it is indeed, the secrets hidden within her as well as the potential for something more…every time I see something like this, it is fascinating insight into a person's soul."

"…who are you?" Felice asked a hand placed against his wound as he felt the man bristle but no hostility in his eyes the teen feeling his shoulder relax as Felice let Leto tend to his injuries from the fight just before the strange man had intervened killing off the tough opponent for him, the teen eying the man up and down before he gestured to the shirtless man. "And what's with the weird getup?" The man was taken aback by the question before he smiled instead ignoring his blunt question, the expression was enough to make Felice blanch as the pale man folded his lanky arms looking back at the trail of destruction that had occurred with the earlier fight. "I simply wanted to speak to you tonight as soon as I saw that little lightning display where I was out for my prey, surely you can respect that much out of someone who has saved your life from death to not ask so many pointless questions."

"…" Felice kept his mouth silent, the pale man realizing he had won the argument as he kept his hand on his pistol butt but the lack of motion in his body movements calmed Felice down to the fact he wouldn't get aggressive with him, the student wincing as he clutched his torn shoulder the blood soaked shirt unable to hide the gaping hole while his left arm help uselessly at his side like strings cut from a puppet. "Damnit…"

"Having trouble? I could fix that for you." The pale man offered towards Felice with that same creepy grin, the man inclined his head towards the side where the bushes laid as he called out into the darkness. "Chidori, if you would please heal our injured friend here," the rustle of bushes attracted Felice's attention to someone else's presence as pale hands withdrew the curtain of leaves and stepped into the moonlight, the teenager staring blankly as a girl with long red hair and a white dress appeared her dark eyes staring at him without much emotion before she stretched out her hand towards Felice's shoulder the boy closing his eyes as he felt the sinews once torn and ripped begin to suddenly twist and form around itself, muscle and pierced flesh forming back into place as Felice traced a finger along the almost healed injury fascinated by the effects of the healing. "Wow."

"Amazing, is it not, the power that differs amongst Personas? Not even one is the same as the other, a truly powerful gift that is bestowed on us." The pale man indirectly praised the girl's skill, the girl called Chidori saying nothing throughout the exchange as Felice rotated his once injured arm stunned by the fast recovery before he nodded in thanks finding his voice again with the injury completely healed. "Again, thanks a lot for the help and my arm, though I didn't quite catch your name."

The pale man blinked his golden irises brightening in the barely luminescent park, the man releasing his grip on the pistol in his belt. "Yes of course, how rude of me to ignore the most basic of customs…my name is Takaya, and as I introduced before this is Chidori."

"So, you guys are Persona users as well?"

"Indeed we are, in fact we have another one of our group as well but tonight he is away on business and so me and Chidori were simply taking a leisurely walk at midnight searching for prey," Takaya spoke as he gestured to Chidori again who was completely ignoring their presence her frown served to stretch lower while she moved over to stare at the trees waiting a distance from them. Felice looked almost surprised by her adverse attitude before Takaya noticed the shift in attention, the pale man looking over at Chidori with a look of understanding as he spoke with a glimpse towards her back, "Yes excuse Chidori, she isn't one who was the sociable kind of girl but we do not mind…it shows her silent determination."

"I…uh, see?" Felice said confusingly as Takaya ignored his words turning to focus on him now. "Well now that we've saved you and healed your injury, I feel that we have the right to know what you were doing out here on your own."

"Huh? Um, well, I…" Felice trailed off as he felt his instincts scream at him to avoid this man at all costs, the pale skin and tattoos along with the golden eyes were enough to make him scream in terror and run from the duo as fast as his legs could carry him. Even the teen could sense the apprehension being shared through Leto as the muttering of Greek in the back of his mind was beginning to find its conscious, the teen rubbing his once injured shoulder. "I was exploring the place when I saw something in the park and went to investigate this was the first time I had to fight something like that."

"That was a risky venture," Takaya mused as he looked up at the sky. "And what do you hope to achieve by participating in this misadventure?"

"Well, I don't really know yet but since I had this power…I felt I should just do something," Felice said as he wondered what Takaya was thinking about when he said it, the man humming in thought before he folded his arms. "I see…have you ever thought of possibly joining us then?"

"Huh? Join you and her, I don't even know what you guys do in the first place," Felice said as Takaya looked almost incredulous but held his thoughts the man touching the butt of his pistol almost affectionately. "I see you haven't heard of us, well no matter…we're part of a group that have decided to use our powers to protect the populace. We go by the name of Strega though I am not surprised you have never heard about us anywhere on the net," Takaya explained to Felice who had hesitated.

"What do you mean by protect?"

"We help those who cannot help themselves with the power that we have, and deliver justice on those who aren't able to fight back against those who would decide to oppress."

"So you guys are rebels or something?"

Takaya chuckled at the teen's inquiry the man tugging his belt. "No, nothing of the sort like that...unlike rebels we don't fight this oppressive society simply because we have nothing else on our hands to do, but we have to the talent to do so. We take those oppressors who torture the weak and simply make them suffer for it." Felice snorted the teen feeling like this was becoming rather pointless as the teen shrugged his shoulders. "Doesn't convince me or move me in the slightest towards your cause, I haven't found my purpose yet but I know well enough it has nothing to do with you at all or your little gang of avengers.."

"No need to get so defensive about something that is true, isn't it? When you have the talent and the opportunity to become someone more wouldn't you be the type to reach your hand out and take it instead of lying around with no doors to expand your horizons? To be honest I can see that you are having a power you're not using properly, and wandering around traipsing in the Dark Hour when you have nothing better to do with your boring miserable despair-inducing life, that would mean something to you." Takaya pointed out as the teen kept silent, unable to answer him before he spoke. "Dark Hour…what on earth are you babbling about?"

"That's what this time of the night is actually called, it is the Dark Hour to us Persona-users who walk during this hour…and I bet you've seen the Tower of Demise as well during all those nights in the middle of the city?"

"Tower of Demise…?" Felice asked his head beginning to feel a tiny headache coming on as he tried to register the looming tower up in the horizon of houses. "What kind of name is that? Though now that I think about it…it's rather fitting, but what does this have to do with the Dark Hour or even how we're able to walk about?"

"It is where our blessings pour out from, my dear clueless boy." Takaya spoke his eyes shining as he lifted a palm out as if to cusp the upper half of the Tower of Demise in his hand, the man joyfully sharing his words with Felice who felt a chill run down his body. "Did you not know of this? The Dark Hour is a special phenomenon that chooses those who it deems worthy to carry out its wishes in the world, and this means that we are its servants performing the intended works that we are supposed to do."

"…you're kidding with me, right?" Felice replied after a few moments of hesitation his mind unable to come up with any kind of answer to his declaration. "Seriously, I can't imagine such a lone Tower even has the power to do it much less 'select' who it deems to be servants for a purpose in this city."

Takaya frowned but the glimmer in his eyes didn't disintegrate as he lowered his hand looking back at Felice with a creepy look. "I and Strega have spent our lives finding our purpose, perhaps you could join us and with it find your true calling in this world, this Dark Hour…and find what it is that makes your life full than empty. That is what we as the chosen ones of the Tower of Demise should be doing, isn't it? Banding together."

"That may be true, I don't know why I got this ability but I'm pretty sure I am not so desperate to search out groups without rhyme or reason. If you are asking me to join you, it's a pretty bad sales pitch you're trying to sell me. To be honest I wouldn't care how I got this power, only that I was gifted with it...I can find my own way." Takaya narrowed his eyes spurning the man to turn on his heel speaking with an inclined head towards Felice while Chidori followed her expression remaining unchanged throughout the whole debate giving only one glance at the teen before she left ahead of Takaya the man clicking his tongue in disappointment yet let out a chuckle soon after closing his intimidating yellow irises. "If that is what you wish to lead your life, I won't stop you…but I still am willing to consider if you happen to change your mind or when you have opened your eyes to the truth that is right in front of you."

"Truth…that's a debatable subject but I'm sure I wouldn't need to join anyone."

"You may regret that statement in time dear boy…remember that well," Takaya said as he disappeared into the night alongside Chidori who just gave him an apathetic glance thrown his way before she shuffled away, the darkness of the park bringing back the eerie atmosphere surrounding Felice who stood still in the same spot before he snapped out of his thought processes, walking over to the tree and retrieving his bag which was roughed up really bad from the exhausting fight, Felice opening the zipper and stared inside the bag his eyes assessing the damage before an uncomfortable silence filled the air.

"…My snacks and drinks need to be replenished, oh man my allowance is going to be chewed out at this rate if this is going to be a regular occurrence, and maybe I should just patrol my neighbourhood instead." He said as he dragged the torn bag with its broken goods in it over his shoulder, the events just now playing through his head while he walked through the park while recounting what the man was saying to him earlier. Spying something from behind him along with the clapping of shoes trailing after him, the teenager moved towards the bushes to stay out of sight when a flash of silver hair appeared upon the battleground a distance away, Felice holding his breath as he watched the latecomer come into view through the bushes recognizing it as the guy in the red sweater vest that he had seen exiting the dormitory not long ago the teen deciding to sneak away not waiting to hang around for more questions than he already had.

* * *

Change of POV

The park was a mess, the cracked webs and uplifted dirt with decimated tree trunks and branches lying scattered around the small area of the park was what Akihiko was greeted to when he had seen the pillar of blue electricity originating from the park, the teenager walking blindly towards the scene of conflict kneeling down to place a leather-gloved hand on the torched ground which was still releasing small trails of smoke Akihiko almost feeling a sting from the residual electrical energy found within the boy turning his head away to avoid the overwhelming smell of smoking dirt and brick the smell mixing with the uncomfortable smell of bark and leaves stinging his nose.

"What happened here? Was that a Shadow?" Akihiko said aloud as he walked over to the torn branches, the destruction of nature with a single path swathed to a clearing by something obviously large the silver-haired teen scratching his head before he tapped his ear.

"Mitsuru, Mitsuru are you there?"

"I hear you, what's going on Akihiko?" The teen heard a reply over the line as he looked around the scene Akihiko speaking while he searched the ground. "Well, Mitsuru I am not so sure…I'm at the residential park and, well, if only you were here to see this. Trees are scattered all over the place and the road is cracked, there is scorched ground too…most likely a Zio spell being cast."

"Zio? Is it a Shadow then?"

"Well, I'm not so sure but there isn't any other evidence I can find yet that pinpoints to a Shadow though the destruction of the road and the swathed path I found this is mostly likely a big Shadow that had entered the city," Akihiko reported as he turned to leave the area the teen letting out a sigh of disappointment. "Well that's a shame that it all ended already, I was hoping to run into whoever was causing all of that."

"What was that, Akihiko? Were you planning to do something reckless while under my supervision?"

"Uh…huh, no of course I wouldn't, not at all! I'm going to return to the dorm for tonight, I'm feeling tired all of a sudden!" Akihiko said with a bit of desperation as soon as he heard Mitsuru interrupt his thoughts the teenager sweating a little as he walked towards the park exit the white-haired teen ruffling his short spiky hair. "Uh, Mitsuru about the damages…"

"I'll get the Chairman to handle it as usual while he investigates on his end, you wouldn't have to worry about that of course though this is rather strange," Mitsuru muttered as Akihiko could share the sentiment of his fellow senior the teenager turning a corner. "You're not the only one, the usual mobs of Shadows that have been wandering the place aren't showing up anymore for some reason and all the false alerts of the groups throughout the patrols so far…it's too consistent this month to be some kind of coincidence, something must be happening to the Shadows that's thinning their numbers."

"I agree, but there isn't much evidence to support anything right now the only thing we can do is wait and hope we're faster this time around or we get to anticipate what comes next. In the meantime I do suggest you do not wander into fights too soon, it was a handful when they were three of us once and having an inexperienced junior as well as a potential recruit is going to make us more valuable in experience." Mitsuru sighed as Akihiko made his way back to the dorm for the night to rest up, unknowingly being watched by a boy in a beige shirt with the hood cast over his head watching the teenager disappear before walking off into the night.

* * *

7th April, late afternoon Iwatodai dorm

"Ah, good all of you are here." A welcoming voice invited the visitors in front of him into the large room, Mitsuru glancing at the armchair to see a familiar face with slightly wavy hair slicked back along with glasses dressed in a brown suit smiling at her as she gave a look of acknowledgement with Akihiko coming in second the two seniors sitting opposite each other at the two couches before a girl with short brown hair in a pink cardigan over her uniform and red ribbon came into the room almost hesitantly the door closing awkwardly behind her with a soft click. "Uh, so what's going on?"

The glasses-wearing man pushed his glasses up with his fingers before he lowered his hand and crossed both arms looking at the three teenagers in the room. "Well, firstly I wanted to inform you three of what is happening tonight. We're firstly receiving a new potential teammate who's on his way to Iwatodai, he'll be staying over for the school year and helping us out with our problem."

Mitsuru nodded as she recalled the call she received from the man, "I remember you talking about that over the phone…does he have the potential though?"

"That would be up to the boy, but we are certain that this student is capable of doing it," the man assured the three while Akihiko smiled thinly barely hiding the anticipation about getting another fighter on the front lines. "I hope that he does have the potential to do so, that means that we have another front line fighter on the field and maybe we'll have a shot at Tartarus first chance we get," he said confidently his fist in his palm while Mitsuru shook her head at his one-tracked mind the girl in the pink cardigan keeping silent in the background her hands on her kneecaps. The man with glasses nodded in agreement when he heard that, placing his fist under his chin while he spoke up thoughtfully after Akihiko's declaration, "Well even if we do receive a support-type we'll be fine since Mitsuru here isn't completely helpless in battle…but having a fighter wouldn't be too detrimental either in our efforts to deal with the Dark Hour."

"I wanted to ask," the cardigan-wearing girl spoke up attracting the attention of the man and both seniors to her. "Who is this guy that we're expecting to the dorm?"

"Glad you asked about it, his name is Makoto Yuki surprisingly a resident who was living in Port Island with his parents ten years ago until he was orphaned in a car accident at the Moonlight Bridge," the man said as he grabbed a folder which laid atop of the table opening it to stare at the profile picture which depicted a boy with night blue hair, a fringe covering his left eye while the remaining blank orb stared devoid of emotion at the camera a thin frown on his face which the girl found unnerving though she kept her own emotions reined in at the mention of the Moonlight Bridge, a sense of dread overcoming her as she looked at the bespectacled man. "Do you mean that he is…?"

"Yes, he is one of the lucky few who made it out of the incident ten years ago from that disaster in Port Island. It was a miracle that he managed to escape then when many others weren't so lucky," the man commented as he retrieved the folder stashing it onto his lap while he tented his fingers. "Now that things are settled with the new potential, I trust you'll be keeping an eye on him while I am gone? I have to report back to Takeharu about this, and won't be back until tomorrow to meet him so I appreciate it if you guys kept him out of trouble."

"Of course Chairman."

"Great!" The Chairman happily clapped his hands at Mitsuru's agreement, the man rising from his chair in joy as he moved towards the office door in the back of the room. "I'll need to settle some things here so this meeting is dismissed as of now." Akihiko and the cardigan wearing girl took it as the cue to leave the room while the redhead stayed behind with the chairman who was already speaking with her, the two teenagers closing the door behind them as Akihiko sighed relaxing his tense shoulders while rubbing his shoulder. "Well this is going to be interesting, but I have to rest up and prepare for the patrol tonight, see ya."

Walking away the high school senior threw a hand up in the air while holding his jacket over his right shoulder, leaving the pink cardigan wearing student behind who looked a little lost on what to do before she shrugged following Akihiko down the stairs to the third floor. Reaching her designated room, the student entering the living space and settled down immediately plopping on the bed saying nothing while she stared at the window blankly in thought while the Chairman's words about the new potential echoing in her head.

"A survivor from that incident ten years ago, just like me?" The words sounded foreign on her tongue as she bit her lower lip an assortment of unwanted memories associated with that sentence, the girl removing her cardigan and tossed it aside while she reached for a drawer near her bedside retrieving a small folded paper and unfolded it reading the content again. "Dad…I promise I'll find out what happening here."

* * *

Late Night

"Attention passengers. This is the final stop for this train at Iwatodai station, I repeat final stop Iwatodai…please, remember to collect all your belongings when you are about to exit the train," the electronic announcement played over the PA while a crowd of latecomers surged out of the train the sound of shoes slapping tile echoing amongst the murmurs and chatter of business men and women on their phones a small handful of teenage groups joining the sea standing out in the black and white with a rainbow of dark and light colors though none caught the eye of several passengers to a peculiar passenger who had exited amongst the crowd, the fluttering of blue hair dancing to the blowing wind poking out like a sore thumb. Apathetically the mass of blue hair filtered and slipped his way through the tiny gaps in the crowd the flash of metal at the sides of his head barely visible amongst the tall adults, the smaller passenger had the greater advantage of speed making his way towards the card reader which was being hogged by misaligned queues.

"Thank you for riding with us, enjoy your stay in Port Island City!" The voice from the reader thanked the paying passenger, the passenger breaking free of the slightly crowded and stuffy terminal to reach the open streets the fresh air coming to hit the face as a thin hand reached into the pocket removing a cellphone and flipped the screen open.

11:59pm

Closing the phone and stuffing it into his pocket, the identified male shifting his head taking in his surroundings for the first time since he had entered the train. The male with blue hair walked onward the map of the city forming in his mind while he grabbed the large sports bag he held containing his belongings, the music playing loudly in his eardrums the beat pounding in his body.

_Dreamless dorm, ticking clock __  
__I walk away from the soundless room __  
__Windless night, moonlight melts __  
__My ghostly shadow to the lukewarm gloom __  
__Nightly dance of bleeding swords __  
__Reminds me that I still live_

_I will-_

*bbbzzzztttt*

"!" The male felt the music cut itself off as he let out a surprised gasp, the player coming to a complete stop as a hand tore the headband of his headphones down his neck the sudden static burst causing his ears to echo with the annoying buzz. As his eyes shut tight the boy failed to notice the change in the environment around as the dirty streets and somewhat neat tiled floors of the train station becoming stained with sudden spurts of crimson red pooling onto the ground in splatters the blue-haired teen shaking off the feeling as he opened his eyes.

"…What?" A soft suppressed croak was only uttered as the blue-haired boy faced the new alien grounds of Port Island, a panic rising in his chest as his heart was the only audible noise thumping against the cage of his chest demanding to be free. _Gotta calm down, this isn't going to help anyone…I have to get to the dorm as quickly as possible and I can think over this later, _the blue-haired boy thought as he immediately took off from the station at a brisk pace the boy not looking back or stopping for anything as the map in his head planed out the route he was taking to the destination.

Iwatodai dorms

_Made it, _the door of the building closed shut behind him as the teenager barely managed to let out a breath of tense air he had held up the whole walk through, releasing his bag onto the ground as he closed his eyes feeling his heartbeat which had gone erratic start to slow down into a crawl, the sound relieving to the blue-haired teen. "Why good evening! We finally meet each other at last," A cheery voice caught his attention just ahead of him, the blunette's eyes darting upwards to see a strange sight of a child with dark blue hair and deep blue eyes dressed in a striped outfit smiling at him near the counter his hands behind his back. "Looks like you've arrived later than expected, but what can you do about the traffic?"

"_What is up with this child? Why does he feel somewhat familiar?_"

"Hmm, well it doesn't matter now…you're just in time. Please, sign your name on the book over there," the small child gestured to a book as the blue-haired boy walked over towards the book his eyes glancing across the lines. _"This definitely without a doubt looks very familiar."_

**I, _, promise that I will personally be accountable for the choices that I make and that the consequences which arise from it are accepted in stride. **

Without thinking, the boy took the pen provided with no shred or moment of hesitation began to write his name onto the blank line provided in the statement the bluenette finishing up placed the pen on the book, the child grabbing said book to look at the content his expression still happy and unfazed as he closed the book, a blue butterfly appearing just as he threw the book up into the air…and the item promptly disappeared into the air like it had not existed the boy chuckling a little at the boy's slightly agape expression showing confusion.

"No one can escape time, for it delivers us all to the same end. You can't cover your eyes or plug up your ears…I'll be seeing you around, _**Yuki Makoto…**_" the child lectured as he stepped back into the shadow of the room disappearing from sight as the blue-haired student took a step forward with a hesitant hand half angled into an outstretched pose his voice unable to call out to the strange child who had just vanished leaving him in the empty hall with his bag on the floor. _"What was that? That boy…I feel like I've seen him before but I don't know where or when have I even met him…"_

"Who's there?!" Yuki immediately tensed as he eyed a head of brown hair poke out into the main entrance hall her breathing ragged and tense as well, the blue-haired teen taking note of her pink cardigan and red ribbon while a school skirt was seen underneath the form fitting fabric with some appreciation, it wasn't everyday that an attractive girl would appear in front of him. However whatever thoughts he had on the subject were cut when he noticed something else at her right thigh, the boy feeling his instincts yell at him to dodge out of the way as he shifted towards the armchair ducking away from the girl who was grabbing the gun and bore it on him. "Stop right there and don't move!"

"Wait. Surrendering," Yuki spoke calmly as he held his hands into the air while hiding behind the armchair in defeat as the cardigan wearing student was about to speak further before a voice cut into the air halting her actions.

"Takeba, please hold on! This is him." Another voice echoed as Yuki perched his eyes up from the armchair, his eyes falling onto another beauty with red flowing hair who appeared from the opposite side of him wearing a formal white blouse and black knee length skirt with her arms folded across her chest Yuki's white eyes blinking rapidly as he felt his heart skip a tiny beat at the newcomer, his hands still in the air even when the girl called Takeba had holstered her weapon sighing in relief just before the lights came on filling the dark room with light the change in lighting was noticed by Yuki who looked up at the ceiling and back down at the two girls on both flanks.

"Blackout?" He asked simply the most logical reasoning coming to his mind as he got a nod from the redhead, the girl walking towards the armchair as she stuck her hand out to Yuki, the boy feeling a red tint show faintly across the line underneath his eyes Yuki rising to his feet when he took one last look at Takeba to make sure the girl wasn't still wielding her gun at him and cautiously grasped the redhead's hand shaking it lightly.

"I'll explain everything to you soon, but for now I guess introductions are on the way, my name is Mitsuru Kirijo and the girl over there is Yukari Takeba. You were quite late to arrive, Yuki Makoto."

End

And so it begins…the story from now will switch over to Yuki Makoto's POV due to him still being the main star in the story. I figured that for this time around I would put his personality according to the status attributes in the game, so it goes as follows.

Academics: Smart

Courage: Ordinary

Charm: ? (You will figure it out in time…you'll figure it out)

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this transition chapter and enjoy your day.


	5. April 8th, 9th

Persona FEStivities

Author's notes: Well this is the continuation of the story through Yuki Makoto's eyes now, but there are switches between though not too much as I want the focus to still be on Yuki. As of now, April rolls around and Makoto goes to school while I put in a small section devoted to the OC and the story of the Persona protag Yuki starts now.

Firstly, disclaimer: I don't own Persona and I would rather not do so…let Atlus handle it cause they got the brains.

* * *

Morning of the 8th, April 2009

"Mmm…it's that time already huh, two months have passed so quickly…" the groan of the sheets shivered and shook, eventually being thrown aside as a head of muddy blonde awoke from his slumber sitting up while he pushed his back against the headboard of his new bed, the small clunk could be heard while Felice yawned stretching his back and arms spinning his wrists in tiny circles while wiping the sleep from his eyes. "Well, whatever, it's time to head over to the tram station and get to Port Island Station…and then school."

Felice groaned, not that he wasn't satisfied with the existence of the institution called school, as without it he would be bored to death and be hanging around at home without his intellect being tested or acquiring skills. His beef was elsewhere, particularly in the teacher's staff pick for his own class for Gekkoukan High School on the first day he was introduced to the staffroom…that memory of his first day was not something he was going to forget and hopefully neither would the teacher for trying to be an ass to him with his lack of respect for a student who was planning to excel. Looking at the time, he sighed stretching his limbs while he removed the sleepwear that he was wearing for the night scrunching the fabric up into a ball and tossing it in a large laundry basket that he had taken from the laundry room watching the clothes land in a scattered heap before he walked over to the bathroom in his boxers. Taking a really cold shower to complete his wake up routine (in spite of the fact that he was sitting in the middle of a cold season) he reached out and wiped himself down putting on the school's summer shirt while slipping into the uncomfortable long pants of the uniform, a thing that Felice missed since he used to attend schools overseas which allowed casual wear for students the boy fastening the jacket on but not before flinching from the brush of the fabric against his bare arms.

"Looking good, ready for school and Mr. Dickhead's picking on me of course on the first day," the boy muttered to himself as he walked out of his room slinging his bag which was packed with the books for the lessons today last night over his shoulder as he walked out into the hallway and into the kitchen opening the door.

"Hello, I'm awake!" Felice brightly announced his presence as he heard the sound of the stove sizzling, the sight of greying hair greeted him as the old lady turned to address him with a smile.

"Morning, Felice-kun are you going to school now?" The elderly woman of the house smiled up at Felice who nodded grabbing a few slices of toast which were left untouched, the man reaching for the jar of vinegar apricot jam and the knife preparing to spread it over his late toast. "Well, kinda…the early trains were too crowded so I figured I may as well just stick with walking to school."

"Eh? But wouldn't that mean you're late by at least fifteen minutes?" The old woman replied as Felice nodded the boy spreading out his toasts and stuffed them into a recently cleaned up lunchbox sinking his teeth into the two spare ones he reserved, the elder sighing as she didn't take her eyes off the stove. "Oh Felice-kun, don't forget that you're going to help me out with the cooking today…the children have been looking forward to trying out what the new chef's been leaning from their good old grandma." Felice grunted but said nothing as he chowed down on the toast the boy rising from his seat as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand walking towards the sink to briefly wash his hands before he grabbed his school bag.

"I'll think on it, but no guarantees on that." He replied as he walked outside the home his hand going to the inside of his jacket as he pulled up a white colored hood over his head the cold air chilling his body as he walked down the path shedding his school jacket after contemplation revealing a slight baggy white hoodie underneath, his hand half stuffing the unnecessary jacket into his bag while he took casual glances around the city which was livelier due to the school term beginning for the year various students and others walked in clusters or a distance to isolate themselves from the public eye, mixed in with the odd well-dressed adults who were glued to their phones ignoring their surroundings. The boy closed his eyes momentarily opening them again as he perused over the monotone dark uniforms of the Gekkoukan school outnumbering the students from other local schools in the area variations of color and emblems were on their blazers or jackets as the cold weather blew a torturous wind across the intersection , looking over at the left as he turned the corner leading towards the Moonlight Bridge connecting Iwatodai to Port Island in the distance along with the Iwatodai train station coming into view to the right of him where the crowds surged in their large numbers towards Port Island.

"Oh?" A flash of turquoise caught his eye over the sea of black and brown hair from the distance in front of him, Felice feeling his eyes raise a brow in certain recognition before he blinked the turquoise colored hair disappearing from view the student ignoring it as he crossed the multi-lane intersection bypassing the train station completely. Around twenty minutes later he found himself near the other end of the Moonlight Bridge strolling briskly towards Paulownia Mall, his hoodie protecting him as he crossed the main entrance to the terminal his eyes reading the various street names which opened up in front of him the student looking to his left spying the triple towers which represented the Paulownia Mall with the trademark dome following soon after. "Paulownia Mall…how beautifully structured."

Soon after he had crossed the bridge leading into the main city area and reached the gates of the school did he then reach into his pocket unfolding the cell phone to stare at the digitized numerals on his clock before frowning slightly, the student watching the thin crowds of students hurriedly making their way into the grounds their faces filled with urgency as Felice stuffed the cell into his pocket. _8:20am, faster than I expected. Oh well, I guess it's nothing I haven't suspected…_, Felice thought with some contemplation as he walked towards the school entrance the sun's warm light convincing him to remove his jacket the hoodie attracting some attention from the students who were seeing an unfamiliar sight, the boy slinging his jacket over his shoulder while he yawned the muddy blonde locks revealing itself to the world. Meanwhile just behind him was another situation taking place, the whispers of students moved away to the side as they noticed a girl in a pink cardigan over her school shirt with a large red ribbon and white heart choker around her neck move into view her brown hair rustling through the breeze while she turned on her heel to address a familiar boy dressed in the winter uniform his headphones hanging around his neck while he looked at his surroundings completely taken away by the scenery, the academy rising over his head.

"Well here we are, welcome to Gekkoukan High School. I hope you enjoy your stay here." Yukari announced as Yuki turned around his fascination never leaving his face as he nodded at her in acknowledgement, the image of Yukari smiling at him was something that would stick to his mind for time immemorial as he felt his eyes linger a little longer on the brown-haired girl a lot longer than he would have, the boy only realizing he was staring when Yukari began to feel uncomfortable under his gaze Yuki silently turning his head to the side, the silence between them being a little suffocating. "Uh, we should get going inside of the school…the opening ceremony starts around 8:40. In the meantime we have to find your classroom."

* * *

Gekkoukan High School, main hallway

"Did you get all of that, Makoto-san?"

"Board. Name. Faculty office, first floor on the left, is that correct?" Yuki stated robotically in order of events as Yukari nearly sweated at his simplistic breakdown of her instructions. "…Yeah, that's about it. I'll see you after school okay?"

"Thank you," Yuki said softly as Yukari bowed her head lightly and was about to leave for her classroom before she turned back on her heel spinning around to address Yuki who was about to head towards the board. "Oh, and uh, by the way about last night…I know I said this before already but please don't tell anyone what you saw. Everything will be explained soon, I hope." Yuki nodded in assurance, Yukari giving a wave of her hand as she walked upstairs to the second floor classrooms leaving the new student alone in the hall, surrounded by strangers before he walked towards the school board where the students were crowded about reading their names off the board before they moved on to their assigned classes, Yuki reading the list of names on the various class lists until he finally came upon 2-F spying his name printed on the piece of paper.

"…Yay." The boy monotonously brought a pump of his fist in boorish congratulations for finding his name on a school board, the blue haired boy turning to the hallway where Yukari had pointed out to house the faculty office as Yuki entered the hallway looking around to see a teacher wearing a samurai helmet speaking amicably to a foreign looking boy with a fan the two sharing some heated conversation that made Yuki shrink away from them sidestepping around them before he noticed a sign hanging overhead which read 'Faculty Office' in neat kanji. Reaching for the sliding door's grip, Yuki felt the door slide open by itself the bluenette moving to the side as he watched a grown man dressed in a dark green with dark hair grumble on his way out holding a clipboard under his shoulder, Yuki entering the office to see three people in the office two female and one student. Almost immediately the student came to the forefront of his attention, the cause being that said student was being restrained at the arms by the two females the sound of heavy breathing being the only clue as to what transpired in there.

"Huh…who is-oh, are you the new student?" The voice of one of the teachers addressed Yuki, the blue haired boy looking in surprise at the tense look on the teacher's face the woman giving a relaxed stare when she gave a glance at the restrained student, releasing her hold on the arm letting the limb fall to his side. Yuki took note of the pink dress and skirt alongside her brown hair, the teacher was attractive though that thought went ignored by Yuki who gave a questioning look at a dark haired woman tending to the other male student in the room the boy looking up at Yuki while a lock of his muddy blonde hair fell in front of his face blocking his eye from viewing the outside world while the teacher was silently muttering to the blonde.

"Yuki Makoto, is that correct?"

"Yes." Makoto answered without hesitation when he heard the woman in pink call out his name, his head bowed towards her. "It's nice to meet you."

The lady smiled, her hands picking up a folder which said 'Student information' the woman flipping through a few pages while she scanned each picture. "Hmmm, Yuki...Yuki...ah! Okay, let me just check your details and what homeroom you would be in for the year…wow, you've been travelling around for a while haven't you? Shibuya in Tokyo and some other schools too." She brightened up at that while she continued to read the rest of his attendance record to herself, Yuki noting that while he watched the muddy blonde student glancing at him though saying nothing to him Yuki about to say something before the teacher's voice brought his attention back to her, the teacher's eyes still glued to the folder. "Oh, you're wondering what happened here, then? Well it wasn't much, if you were expecting some dramatic episode of someone's life…though I would appreciate if you did learn how to control yourself when you speak to your teachers."

The muddy blonde shrugged at that statement giving the impression of being impassive, the teen's face darkening slightly at that statement as Yuki noticed the boy's fist was being treated with light bruising and a dent in a locker, nothing serious as the student noticed him for the first time in the room his eyes raised. The look of confusion gave way to a slight smile, the muddy blonde looking at the blue haired boy up and down as the storm on his face briefly subsided. "Well I didn't expect to see someone with blue hair around here this must be the luckiest day of my life if this is happening. So uh, what kind of dye is it?"

"Natural color."

"You're kidding." Seeing no response from the kid, the muddy blonde touched his hair out of self-consciousness the muddy blonde stretched out his uninjured hand at the blue-haired teen smiling as he did so. "Well nice to meet you I suppose but this would be a bad first impression, my name is Felice…as you can tell from the name, haha, I'm a foreigner to your country. I suppose this would make me an intruder?"

"Yuki Makoto." Yuki replied unamused by the teen's query as the teachers scowled a little, the boy scratching his head. "Ehehe…so you're called Yuki, it is a rather nice name with a cute ring to it if you put it like that. Yuki, Yuki…" Somehow, Yuki felt that this guy would go on for a while, the teen falling into his little world as the blue-haired teen saw the teacher in pink indicating to the door the boy deciding to leave the teenager to it leaving the faculty office.

"By the way, I am Toriumi…your teacher in English composition for the year, and you're in 2-F which is my class so I hope we get along." The woman in pink introduced herself as the two briskly made their way to the hall, the woman glancing at her wristwatch. "Well, we better move it if we're going to make it to morning assembly…I wouldn't want a bad first impression so soon."

Morning assembly passed quickly, Yuki taking the chance to sneak a nap in the middle of the boring introduction to the school year, the boy did his best to mute himself as he slept though his light snoring did earn a smack on his back from the student behind him who whispered to him about his little walk to school with Yukari, the first he ever heard of the girl being a popular girl amongst the school before being interrupted by the teacher who was worried about her 'first impression' to the rest of the school. The students were then dismissed for the morning and were sent to their classrooms, Yuki tailing in the back while he heard the chatter around him the boy making his way into the 2-F homeroom and sat at his desk the chatter dying as soon as Toriumi walked into the room and stood at the podium.

"Class, morning to you all and welcome to the new school semester for the year…as you know me from some of your classes I'm Miss Toriumi the English composition teacher, and I'll be teaching you that subject again. Firstly before we go briefly into the school periods I would like to introduce you to a transfer student who is joining us, if you would Yuki." The clatter of a chair as the blue-haired student stood up attracting a new buzz of noise as he walked to the front of the class his head bowed from being in front of so many people, his shy demeanor hiding behind his fringe.

"Y-Yuki Makoto…good to meet you." He said simply while keeping his eyes trained to the floor the boy immediately walking towards his seat without another word taking up the seat as whispers muttered around him, the words making him sink a little deeper into the desk almost feeling as though he had stepped on a landmine.

"All right, settle down! You can ask him questions once class is over and done with, in the meantime we have the schedule to look at and unless you wish to be released early I suggest you settle down!" Seeing the class fall silent, Toriumi huffed as she looked at the clipboard clearing her throat while she proceeded to take the roll.

In the classroom next door

"Introduce yourself already and get it over with." The gruff voice ordered as a student dressed in the summer shirt stood up scratching his muddy blonde hair. "Sure thing, you miserable grouch…"

"What was that?" The teacher growled out while Felice shot a poisonous look at the grown man for a moment before he sighed, the student stretching his arms while he stood up the sound of his chair screeching against the tiles echoing through the classroom.

"I was mulling over what I should cook for dinner tonight, my bad." Letting out an unapologetic smile, the student moved towards the front of the class and began to write his name on the board turning around to face the group of students the teenager immediately removed his hands from his pockets as he gave a wave at the class wearing a thin smile. "Hey, how you guys doing? Felice Armbruster, transfer student from Inaba."

"That's not so hard, was it? Now sit down, you can all waste your time asking him questions about the boonies when the introductory lecture is over," the man barked at the class while Felice immediately cleared the board and went back to his seat eyes catching the sight of turquoise in front of him as he coolly ignored it and sat back in front of the person, mentally noting to speak to her later. In the meantime, the man called Ekoda was continuing to speak to them while drawing up class subjects for the year informing them of the class schedule, Felice almost being tempted to sleep but held in his sleepiness to stay awake taking notes as he went along in his notebook though a small note in the back of his mind told him to make sure to put Ekoda on his shit list.

* * *

After school

The day had been long, but the day overall for Yuki had been good. He was honestly surprised at how good the day turned out, the assembly was boring though as expected but class had its own reward.

"So, wanna see the Iwatodai strip mall and get some ramen?" The voice next to him alerted him to the teen walking beside in the school uniform while wearing a baseball cap, Yuki nodding in reply as the two entered Hagakure the boy in the baseball cap taking a seat near the kitchen area with Yuki following suit.

"One special please," The teen in the cap ordered, Yuki taking some time to peruse the menu as he began to frown at the names while the capped boy turned towards Makoto in the midst of his contemplating. "So what would you be having, Makoto? You want to try your hand at the special too?"

"Huh? Uh, well I'm…not sure what I want."

"Oh right, what was I thinking?" The capped student almost slapped his forehead with his groan the boy looking up at the menu. "Okay, well, I recommend this ramen here. Trust me, it's a lot less spicier than some of the other menu items on board," the boy gave him a thumbs up as Makoto nodded going along with the decision while giving him a thank you through nodding, the cook taking their orders as he immediately got onto the orders the two boy sitting beside one another.

"So what brings you to Port Island, not that it isn't any different from the other cities but still…what brought you out here?" The boy asked as he placed an arm on the counter, Makoto pausing before he continued. "I'm not so sure myself of the reason, but if I can attribute it to a simple reason I just wanted to see my home again since it's been ten long years of traveling from place to place."

"Ten years…oh yeah, that was when that incident happened right? You had to leave town and stuff, man I was living rather far out of the main city when it happened but I still remember the evacuation then and given another place to stay until it calmed down. So where did you even go, any relatives or family?"

"Shibuya at Tokyo, I was there with a relative for most of the time attending school but I had to leave after four years and I began to transfer through a few schools," Yuki explained as he played idly with the pair of chopsticks which laid on the counter the boy with the cap looking at him almost unbelievably. "Damn, I never had that kind of life…I lived in this city as far as I can remember so this is the only life I've got, boring huh?"

"I…"

"Here you two go, enjoy and eat up boys!" The voice of the cook announced the arrival of their orders, the two cutting their conversation short as they slipped into eating their food. When they were done the capped boy placed his hands together in happiness while Yuki looked satisfied already, the two boys exiting the noodle place as the capped boy patted his stomach. "That was awesome! I feel energized already just by eating the food, don't you?"

"Mm, thanks Junpei…" Yuki spoke softly the capped boy waving his hand at Yuki. "Huh? That's what friends are for, yeah? Hey I need to go first, so I'll see you at school tomorrow." Junpei hurriedly said the moment he looked at this watch, the boy waving goodbye to Yuki as he strolled ahead of the blue-haired student leaving him alone for the afternoon. _I should walk around Iwatodai since I have time, _the first thought came to Makoto's head as he looked around the station before he came to a decision the boy walking away from the station behind where Junpei had disappeared off to, a particular location in his mind as he put on his headphones and pressed play.

* * *

Naganaki Shrine

The shrine steps along with the iconic Torii gates which stood protectively over the stone stairway came into view, Yuki could note the difference in the air when he got close to the grounds walking towards the steps and ascended each step muted by the music in his ears. Moving up to the top the teenager noted the surroundings seeing the notable features of the shrine still in place, Makoto spending some time to walk around the area of the shrine taking note of the fortune draw and the small offertory box where a sign in kanji called 'God of Academics' hung overhead, the blue-haired boy taking a seat by the playground and leaned back in his seat his track list playing in his ear.

It took some time of wandering around, but as he took a stroll down the vaguely familiar streets Yuki felt a sense of accomplishment from seating in the local Iwatodai shrine, the empty area standing out at him as if sensing a nostalgic presence while Yuki blinked slowly his eyes up at the sky. After all this time he was finally home. The place of birth, the origin point, whatever it was called…he finally received his wish to return home in Iwatodai.

Yet he couldn't recall anything. Wandering around the streets, seeing familiar blurry visions of the past in the buildings and the bridge did nothing to jog his memory as he laid there deep in thought. He had figured that when he came back to Iwatodai perhaps he would help his past come to his mind at least anything before the incident ten years ago, however this had not been the accurate description of what he just received.

In honesty Yuki felt torn at this point as he frowned feeling a dark welling in his heart spring up, the boy shifting his feet a little against the asphalt ground as he kicked a tiny pebble away as he leaned forward clasping his head in his hands. The moment in the classroom had come back to his mind, their faces and the whispers were stirring negative emotions within the boy as he turned the volume on his player to let the sound overwhelm their images with voices from the past.

_**I heard his parents died…**_

_**That child was one of those who died in that explosion down at Port Island right?**_

_**Heard he got treated with depression, is he even mentally stable to be here?**_

_**The dangers of having someone like him with that kind of history in an educational institution.**_

Yuki furrowed his brow, the boy shaking the images away as he changed position on the park bench immediately placing his ankles up on the bench rests letting his head fall to rest against the wooden planks the music blasting in his ears.

_Kaze no koe hikari no tsubu madoromu kimi ni sosogu __  
__Wasurenai yasashii hohoemi kanashisa ni kakushita hitomi wo_

_Negau koto (tsurakutemo) tachimukau yuuki kimi ni moratta yo dakara yuku ne __  
__Yume no naka (mezametara) mata aeru yo_

_Tooi kioku mune ni hime utau_

"…The sky is rather nice," he said as he felt his eyes go heavy closing as the boy fell into sleep, the sun bearing on his head like a mini-oven.

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere nearby

Felice walked down the road his hand on his mouth as he yawned, the late afternoon sun shining brightly despite the contradictory cold wind that picked up during lunch to the point that even he didn't want to eat outside sealing himself somewhere in one of the hallways where he casually ate his lunch watching various people bypassing his secluded spot. Looking up, Felice had to admit that he was at least excited for school as it gave him something better to do than simply snooping around in the home with nothing to do…he could nearly well empathize with the jobless searching for a job but finding it difficult to do so, another debatable subject by 'experts' in the world today.

_The world has its bickerers I suppose…man, I'm getting a little biased philosophy thanks to Ekoda aren't I?_

Felice shuddered at that, the homeroom teacher giving him the worst vibes about him as he shook his head the mention of the man's name reminding him of what happened in the staff faculty office the boy promptly forgetting the memory, stashing it away as he wandered the street. "Two months…two months…" he repeated aloud before he sighed, Felice scratching his head as he growled impatiently. "Two months and I haven't heard or seen Igor or Margaret for two months, and no clues to the direction I'm heading for or the purpose I got given this power. Just where are they anyway?"

Walking down further towards his home, the boy was absorbed in his thought processes when he turned the corner and promptly felt something impact against his chest sending his hands throwing themselves out to grab the back of what he assumed was a person, the sudden interruption in mid-stride causing him to fall but not before he pivoted his back to the floor crashing unceremoniously against his spine as his bones began to scream out at him the pain eliciting a yell. "OW!"

"I'm sorry!" The person secured by his arms broke free of his grasp standing up with an apologetic bow of her head, Felice noting how familiar this was as he sat back up his eyes closed from the impact while he struggled his breathe opening his eyes while he talked. "No worries, but watch where you're going next…time…"

Felice came face to face with turquoise and black standing a distance from him head bowed as recognition came to him almost immediately. "Hey, you..." He heard an 'eep' from the girl while he stood up, dusting his pants while he narrowed his eyes but kept his distance so not to scare the girl again, "hey…you're the one in my class this morning, 2-E right?"

"Huh?" The girl shifted her head upwards to look at Felice her eyes shining with recognition now when she took a good look at him, the girl slowly recognizing his face as she put a hand to her chest. "You're…Felice-san? What are you doing here?"

"Me, I was just about to head on home for the day when I ran into you. Funny, this is already considered the second time that this has happened." Felice muttered while the turquoise haired girl stared at him confused, the foreigner staring at her before he rose a brow. "I think we've met before. You know, on the train? February the first? You were apologizing to me profusely and got the attention of the train on both of us...ringing any bells?"

"February the first...wait a minute that time on the train, that boy I bumped into was you Felice-san?" The girl blurted out while Felice had to resist an urge to sweat. _Seriously, after two months she just forgot me…well, not that I blame her but still, _Felice thought as he nodded the girl feeling guilty as she apologized quickly. "Again, I am sorry for that time."

"Hold on, wait a minute. You've known my name but yet I don't know yours, it's getting rather irritating."

"Ah, I'm Fuuka."

"Hmm, Fuuka…Fuu…ka." Felice tested the name on his tongue, the syllables rolling out neatly as he nodded in affirmation, the teenager addressing the girl who was timidly playing with her fingers. "Nice name, but still watch where you're going alright?"

"Ah, I'm sorry about it…" She whispered as Felice noticed her expression sadden but didn't address it instead looking around the street. "So what brings you out here to the middle of the residential district is the girl's dorm nearby or something?" Fuuka perked up with relief on her face for a brief moment at the distracting topic nodding as she replied. "Ah yes, well I was just heading over to the dorm right now…after visiting my parents." Her face fell for a second but Felice didn't notice the teen looking elsewhere before he turned back to her a smile on his lips, "Huh, I see. Well that's a good thing yeah, parents are good support when they are around, aren't they?"

"Y-Yes…"

"Well, I should be getting back to my home. I'll see you tomorrow at school then Fuuka." Felice said as Fuuka acknowledged his leave with a nod, the boy giving her a tip of his two fingers in salute as he walked by her leaving her at the side of the road while he pulled the bag by the side the teen feeling his neck suddenly strain while he walked onward, his thoughts turning from the mundane life of school year to something a little more serious as he looked out at the sky.

"I should rest up for tonight…I haven't even started the search after all."

Dormitory, Evening

Yuki closed the door behind him, the click of the lock sliding into its place while his music tracklist was still playing in his ears the boy turning off his player and removed the headphones to let them rest around his neck.

"Ah, there he is now." A familiar voice addressed towards him attracted Yuki to his right as he saw a flutter of pink which his eyes caught sight of as he nodded in the direction, the voice easily distinguished by him belonging to Yukari…it seems that from the looks of it she must have been here for a while now. Now that he thought about it, Yuki hadn't even glanced at his watch when he began his nap time down at the shrine and it was only until he awoke due to a girl running up the stairs to play that he took the time to leave his head spinning from the exposure to the sun.

"Of course, you must be the new transfer student to the dorm…temporarily am I right?" A male voice replied as a figure stood next to him Yuki noticing his presence while the man shot out his hand smiling underneath the cover of his glasses while his slicked hair waved around at the back of his head.

"…? Yes." Yuki replied stoically, his eyes blinking as he took the man's hand in stride, courtesy coming into play even though his weary mind was planning to hit the sack as soon as he could. "Yuki Makoto."

"Yes, I've heard you were a new addition and I came by to check up on you since I was in the area, I'm Shuji Ikutsuki…chairman, and director in Gekkoukan High. Ikutsuki…Ikut…su…ki, what a tongue-twisting name to say am I right? So I just wanted to ask you a few questions if you don't mind, why don't we all take a seat?" The man gestured as Yuki shrugged, following after the two and sat down at the couch, Ikutsuki smiling as he leaned back in his seat. "So far how are you adjusting to life here?"

"…good." Yuki replied softly, the answer barely audible as Shuji clapped his hand. "Excellent, I hope Yukari didn't frighten you on the first night…she's very cautious about safety and well-being of the dormitory," Ikutsuki explained to Yuki though it took the boy a second to realize he was talking about the first night with the gun trained on him as he shook his head.

"No worries…weird, though."

"Oh, the gun business with Yukari last night, am I right? Well I apologize if you were startled but that is to be expected, the gangs in Port Island have recently been hanging around in Iwatodai with their own brand of trouble so I had to simply look for the welfare of my students," Yuki almost shivered at the man's justification for such a protocol the bluenette throwing a glance at Yukari who said nothing in reply the girl looking away from him as Yuki nodded blankly. "Okay."

Internally Yuki Makoto was calling bullshit on those words while Shuji smiled. "Well that is great, but I think it's getting rather late isn't it? I hope you're an early riser, they do say that the early bird catches the bookworm, if you get my meaning." The man said as he chuckled rising from his seat as Yuki did too, the boy about to make his way to the stairs before Ikutsuki spoke up behind him. "I almost forgot to say something, but is there…anything that you need to ask before I go?" _Well, I wanted to know if children live here or if skies turn green and blood spurts out from the spaces in the tiles._

"Nothing," Yuki replied instead heading off towards his room and hastily shut the door, the boy reaching his desk while he pulled out a textbook and tossed it on his desk alongside his bag and jacket Yuki stretching his arms in the air while he removed the slightly sweaty socks which were in his shoes dumping them along with his long sleeved shirt into a small laundry basket along with three boxes of detergent at the side as bare feet touched the floor of the room Yuki slipping into sandals while he lowered his MP player on the table, the boy relaxing in his seat at the desk before he absently opened up a textbook and began to read all through the night.

Night time, Midnight

The streets of the residential district was quiet again, as expected from the so-called Dark Hour which that freak Takaya so named when he was busy ranting about his little group to him not too long ago as Felice walked outside with a breath of fresh air the pack of supplies at his back while he stepped out of the house closing it behind him. Outside he could hear the air grow still and the chilling feeling coming down his back as he removed the latch of the gate and entered the street hearing the echoes of his own two feet walking down the path.

_Firstly, I have to do something about that thing._

* * *

Next day, 9th April

Yuki Makoto saw daily life as a routine, wake up, wash up, eat up and go to school, get home and unwind, then to the arcade and play trivia. It was how he spent his time out in Shibuya while he was with his relatives and it was the beginning of a new day like any other, Makoto shrugging off his sleepiness from his head rising up from his bed and proceeded to perform his daily morning ritual.

Morning, Gekkoukan

"Hey, new guy…over here man, I want to talk to you!" The blue-haired teenager inclined his head to the left, his eyes blinking as he caught sight of a student with yellowish hair smiling as he waved him over, the blue-haired student ignoring him before the guy ran up in front of him pointing a finger at his face. "Hey wait up, you're Yuki Makoto right?"

Yuki was already feeling the urge to push past the boy but instead settled for talking, the boy sticking a hand in his pocket feeling a little uncomfortable at the small radius of personal space between him and the boy. "Who are you?"

"Kenji, I'm in your class, I sit at the back so I understand if you didn't notice me yesterday." The boy introduced himself as he gave Yuki a sly glance the dirty look was received with no outward expression from Yuki who simply took a half step back while Kenji leaned back his hands at his hips while he jabbed a finger in the air, "Nice to meet you. So now that that is over and done with there's something I want to know right now…what gives with you and Yukari-san?"

"I don't even understand…" Yuki said confused by the sudden change in topic as Kenji elbowed him lightly still wearing that cheeky grin on his face the boy sneaking a glance at the other students before he spoke to him, "Come on! You walking to school on the first day with the most popular girl besides that Kirijo chick without so much effort as well as the rumors that you were seen walking out of the same dorm with her…the whole school is in uproar about that, even the boys are giving you jealous looks when you were walking out with Junpei yesterday."

"I didn't notice at all," Yuki deadpanned while Kenji ignored that part, the boy's curiosity overlooking his sarcasm as he leaned closer. "Quit being so secretive man, you can trust me. So what's the secret man, what kind of charm did you use to even walk with her to school?" Kenji asked intruding on the boy's personal space as Yuki felt intimidated taking a conscious step backwards as he turned his head away from Kenji.

"That's…uh, well…" Makoto furrowed his brow as he tried to find the words. It was the first he ever heard of it being spoken to his face, not that he was too surprised to know she was that popular since the whispers from the students on his first day was any indication. Privately, Yuki felt a little enamored by her smile and demeanor even if she did commonly came off as offhand and cold to some like Junpei the other day during his introduction but then he couldn't judge her solely on it. Rumors however ate the truth straight up, and Kenji was pretty much being the vocalization of the thoughts that have spread apparently like wildfire overnight.

"She's not my…" He weakly protested.

"I understand man, you're just working the bases right? Well don't sweat it if you fail, so far no one has managed to catch her eye yet and even then you wouldn't be the last to try." Kenji spoke confidently clapping Yuki on the back as his eyes was wide with protest, the boy struggling to even dissuade this boy from misunderstanding the situation however Kenji had already left leaving him behind while his mind was still at a blank. Stuffing a hand into his pockets, Yuki sighed while a hand smeared itself over his face the boy almost feeling like he should catch Kenji later after school and explain his flawed logic…though something in the back of Yuki's mind told him that this wasn't going to be the accurate case.

"…*sigh*, rumors." Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

After school

Suffice to say, school ended like always from past experience and Yuki decided it would be nice to just go home and relax in the dorm. Today had been one of the weirdest days of his life, the first being the ungodly amount of stares from the second-years and some seniors as he walked down the hallway while whispers were growing around him, Yuki even felt it in his class when he walked inside and attended lessons barely keeping awake during the lectures though a jolt of uneasiness was present everywhere he went.

"Hey, you okay dude? You look kinda pale," Junpei asked as the two of them were walking off from school towards home, Yuki lowering his head a little more than usual as the weight of uneasiness seemed to form a physical load upon his back, the boy shifting a little uncomfortably as he kicked a pebble watching it skip ahead and onto the road while his fringe acted as an effective shield from the masses of death glares while some girls who he could recognize from his class were staring and whispering gossip whilst taking sneak peeks at him before resuming their chat. Yuki didn't have to put two and two together to find out that they were most likely spewing false tales about how he and Yukari were on secret dates and stuff, the blue-haired boy had to place a mental note inside his head when he passed the group of students to do his upmost best in avoiding Paulownia Mall if this was going to be the case...anywhere else than the public spaces would be good so long as he didn't have to deal with unreasonable trouble at his own expense than their deluded minds.

"Fine…"_That was a complete and utter lie, you had ten letters threatening castration and severed hands in your shoe locker just now and had to burn each and every one, _Yuki's brain thought as he muttered his reply apathetically as Junpei looked around to see evil glints thrown in their general direction, the boy shivering in fear and relief inside Junpei spying the apathetic glance which Yuki threw from a sideways glance the boy shaking his head. "You sure dude, 'cause some of these guys aren't really happy with that whole 'walking to school with Yuka-tan' incident and have been glaring for the past minute."

"It's fine."

"Wow, does nothing faze you?" Junpei replied in amazement, making Yuki's brow twitch from that understatement as his mind shot back a retort at Junpei. _No, it is terrifying. Thanks for being the role model of a caring friend by the way with that smirk, and possibly spreading said rumors by accident._

"Hmm." Yuki replied out aloud hiding his thoughts from the clueless boy as he walked home with Junpei that evening all the while planning out his schedule of hiding from the public sphere.

Night time

_Burn my dread_

_I once ran away from the god of fear_

_And he chained me to despair_

"…" Yuki's sleeping form shifted as he continued to listen to his track playing softly in the background, the young teenager snuggling deeper into the depths of his cover enjoying his sleep while the clock above ticked away with each passing second.

11:59

As soon as the minute hand crossed to midnight, the air began to change and the Dark Hour took charge over the environment. On the fourth floor of the dormitory in a large meeting room three people watched a large televised screen hooked to a bank of consoles, eyes glued to Yuki's sleeping form as he unconsciously adjusted the headphones to fit his ears the covers shifting.

"He looks so peaceful when he's asleep." Yukari commented on seeing the boy fast in dreamworld as the other two occupants were lost in their thoughts to care or reply to that offhanded comment, Shuji turning to a familiar redhead in her school uniform the man having a serious look at the screen as he observed the boy in his bed whilst the green hue of the Dark Hour continued to light up the room. "So that pretty much confirms our suspicions about our new potential, he isn't transmorgrified at all even when it has become the Dark Hour…looks like we'll have to see if he's able to summon that power."

Mitsuru had to nod, she already had her suspicions when the boy had appeared in the dorm at that hour just when it ended and the lights came back on and Takeba's report on the situation confirmed that he was most likely compatible to have the potential. Yukari on the other hand was feeling a little guilty, the girl tugging her cardigan sleeve as she watched the screen, "I don't feel this is right…we saw him walk around in the Dark Hour when he first arrived at the dorm, that would be evidence enough than just spying on him and intruding on his personal space."

Shuji gave her a sympathetic look in return, "I understand that much but yet we don't know whether he can actually use the ability or would he simply be a lucky person to not be transmorgrified in the last two Dark Hours…as you know, Yukari the fact is that no one can even remember the Dark Hour if they tried. Explaining it wouldn't even help us if he wasn't a potential, we had to test him as the legitimate claim." Yukari still wasn't assured despite this reasonable logic in the Chairman's statement, the girl shaking her head before a rumble shook the building, causing the three occupants inside to perk their heads up immediately as Mitsuru was the first to hear a beeping sound on the console activating the button while the rumble continued to rock the building before the noise died away. Meanwhile Yukari and Ikutsuki had both recovered from the shake, the former being the first to speak as the uncomfortable silence set in. "What the hell was that? An earthquake?"

"Mitsuru, Yukari…you guys there?!"

"Akihiko, what is going on outside?" Mitsuru spoke sternly into the console as Akihiko let out a breath of relief, the boy gasping for some air as the sound of running could be heard. "I don't know, I was out patrolling like always and then I just ran into this giant…thing. It's chasing me now!" Akihiko reported as all three turned to look at one another, Ikutsuki looking a little horrified as he went to the bank of consoles tapping the button on the communication line to speak through to the silver-haired teenager. "You can explain later, Akihiko but please tell us where you are."

"Hah…hah…I'm…nearing…the dorm. *gasp* Watch yourselves." He replied as the line was cut, Yukari grasping onto the meaning of his words as she reacted fearfully clutching her ribbon. "W-Wh-What? He's going to come to the dorm with whatever is chasing him over here? Is he insane, there are still people living next door! Mitsuru-senpai there's-!"

"Nothing that can be done right now if he's already coming this way," Mitsuru said regretfully as she stood up heading for the bookshelf on the right as she pulled a false book from a shelf, the bookcase sliding away to reveal an armory of weapons held on a room full of racks grabbing a rapier and competition bow set with an arrow stocked quiver in hand before she exited the building handing over the latter to Yukari while her rapier hung at her side under her waist, the Kirijo turning to Ikutsuki who was already showing a hint of panic. "Chairman, stay here until we return. I trust you have something to defend yourself?"

The chairman gave a tense smile as he pulled out a handgun from his jacket pocket, the man stiffly pulling the cock on the pistol wincing at the dreadful sound of the weapon before he stood ready. "Not to worry Mitsuru I have things under control here, but Akihiko is the main concern now. Please, take care of yourself." Nodding, Mitsuru exited the room with Yukari in tow the two girls racing towards the front door as Akihiko suddenly sprinted through the main doors his leg kicking the open door back into a series of hands the force severing them as they fell into black puddles on the ground, the silver-haired boy locking it as he slid down to the ground the two girls coming to his side.

"Akihiko!"

"Senpai!"

"…Ugh, hey there." Akihiko spoke with a wince as he clutched his right arm his back still against the door which was subjected to a loud banging noise. "Damnit, it got my arm."

"Akihiko, can you still fight?" Mitsuru asked while Yukari looked up at her senior with a befuddled expression. "Huh? Senpai, Akihiko-senpai is injured-"

"That isn't an excuse I can take, he's the one who led it here and we are going to be attacked by a swarm of Shadows while an innocent is sleeping upstairs….I don't think there is much of a choice at this point," Mitsuru reasoned as Akihiko nodded the boy rising up while he let his right arm flop downwards the teen smiling through the pain while he brought up his left arm. "Don't worry, I still have my Evoker I won't be completely useless to you," his response was satisfactory as Mitsuru gave him a nod of both thanks and a brief apologetic glance before she turned to Yukari.

"Takeba, I need you to take care of our guest. Wake him up and give him this," Mitsuru spoke as she drew the rapier and handed it to Yukari who looked surprised taking the weapon in her palms. "Wait a minute here, what! But senpai you need all the help that you can get to win this-"

"Takeba, me and Akihiko are more experienced in dealing with Shadows but you're still new and you've only just awakened to your power…it would be more of a hindrance if you were with us. Please take care of Yuki first, he's an innocent and must be safely taken elsewhere!" Mitsuru ordered as Yukari briefly opened her mouth to protest, however Akihiko gave her a shake of his head the brown-haired girl reluctantly tearing away from the two and ran for the stairs leaving them behind. Meanwhile, Mitsuru glanced worriedly at Akihiko who shrugged off her concern with a look the two making their way up the stairs to where the briefing room was, the two seniors drawing a pistol from their respective holsters.

"Akihiko…" She said dangerously before Akihiko sighed the teenager turning away from Mitsuru while they bounded up the stairs.

"I know, sorry. I didn't anticipate things to go this way-"

"We will be talking about it but only when we make it out of here alive, I will want to hear your report…if it is what I think it is, you'll know what's coming next." Mitsuru spoke tensely making the silver-haired teen sweat faster than he could in his life the two hurrying when they heard gunshots from the floor above them. Both teenagers pushed aside their thoughts for now, the time for battle was upon them.

Yuki woke to the sound of thumping against his bedroom door, the boy shifting his head out of the covers as he groggily tried to orientate himself before the knocking stopped and the door was thrown open. The banging woke whatever sleepiness was left in his body as Yuki jumped Yukari bursting into the room looking ragged and gasping for a bit of air. The boy's eyes were confused, the weapons on her back and hand even more so as Yuki got out of bed slipping into his slippers comfortably before a shake sent him staggering.

"Sorry, there's no time to explain everything but we have to move!"

"Okay." Yuki calmly said when he noticed how distraught the girl was, to ask questions now was going to end in more confused answers as the two raced to the ground floor Yukari leading him around the dining table to an emergency exit door the girl stopping at the door her fingers fishing for the keys. "Come on, where is it?"

"…" Yuki said nothing as the shaking suddenly stopped, the two teenagers briefly wondering what had happened upstairs before Yukari tapped her ear just as the communication line opened up to reveal Mitsuru's voice. "Takeba, are you there?!"

"Yes, what's going on did you guys take care of the Shadows?"

"About that, Akihiko just told me that the ones we've been fighting was not the one following him! Be on the lookout for it, we're held up-"

*Bang!*

"Oh crap," Yukari said as she heard the emergency door suddenly began banging, the girl turning around to face Yuki handing him the rapier which was in her hand to him the boy looking at her for answers only to be silenced by a pleading look from Yukari that told him to hold his questions until later.

"Makoto-kun, we need to get upstairs, now." No longer arguing, Yuki let the girl lead the way as the thumping behind them suddenly turned into a loud explosion rocking the building making Yuki look back just as they had reached the third floor Yukari giving a worried glance as well but soldiered on followed by Yuki who was remaining as impassive as always the two eventually bursting out through the door to the roof on the fifth floor, Yukari locking the door behind them as both teenagers paused for breath Yukari sliding down the door with her back facing the surface while Yuki felt his lung burn.

_I've…never run this fast before,_ Yuki thought as Yukari sneaked a glance around the rooftop letting out a sigh soon after. "*gasp* *gasp* We should be *hah* fine up here," she said almost in relief as Yuki slapped his hand against the wall the sudden burst of exercise had thrown his stamina out of whack, the teen looking at her.

"What…happened back there? What was that danger, the gun..." Yuki spoke his mind swarming with questions as he tried to hold in the breaking dam while Yukari looked up noticing the utterly confused and slightly terrified look on his face while he looked at the green sky. She had anticipated this, there would have been questions since he walked through the dorm doors in the Dark Hour which meant he had been exposed to the environment for a while now and her training the gun on him would have provoked suspicion no matter how many angles you could turn the argument in, there would still be no sense to be so paranoid in getting a gun for defense of the home at least in Japan. Patting her skirt, Yukari found the strength in her limbs to stand up the girl giving him a sympathetic look as she tried to find a topic to begin her explanation.

"Well you've earned the right to ask, we've been keeping a few things low for a while with you." Yuki nearly had the urge to roll his eyes. _Yeah, you really hid a lot more than you accounted for already. _"Well the thing is that-"

"RRROOOOOOAARRRFGGGHHH!" The inhuman sound interrupted whatever Yukari was planning to explain, the girl feeling a chill run down her spine as her eyes widened at something in the distance as Yuki followed her gaze, the boy feeling his breath hitch in his throat when he noticed something black and abyssal slowly covering the view of the moon with its large mass. Sticks of black, no, hands that carried steel blades were beginning to claw their way upward to the roof a few bare fingers gripped into the concrete as the emergence of a large blue mask appeared out of the mass of black, the creature staring ahead looking around for a second before falling onto Yuki and Yukari an uncomfortable silence falling on the teenagers as Yukari shuddered and shook her body frozen in terror.

"No…that's the creature that Akihiko was talking about?" She uttered as Yuki felt the grip on his rapier tighten while his mind raced, the teen unable to believe what he was seeing in front of him letting out weird sounds as it approached them before a closed fist belonging to the multi-handed creature threw a black blur onto the concrete floor the blur making a groan as it hit the hard floor and overturned in front of Yuki and Yukari the former widening his eyes in recognition at the sight of a head of muddy blonde hair shuffling on the ground, body trembling as a left fist shifted across the concrete with scratches evident on the skin dragging itself to hold itself near the head and knelt upwards slowly, blood dripping down and staining the muddy blonde in coatings of coppery red the figure struggling before it stood up holding onto one of his arms which was clearly broken for support staggering and swaying in the distance all the while the large masked creature stared at its former beaten prisoner as if watching a prey gasping for life.

Yuki couldn't help but let the name slip right from his mouth, Yukari holding her mouth in her hands while watching in horror just as the teen's knees continued to shake staggering as he dragged his feet two steps before kneeling again on the floor nursing the broken arm the teen chuckling wryly as he suddenly perked his head up noticing the two for the first time while Yuki stepped forward his eyes wide. "Felice…san?"

"What's…*cough* up? So...you gonna *gasp* *choke* finish this thing for me or what?"

End


	6. Magician, Hospitalized

Festivities

Author's notes: Hey guys this is a new chapter for this fic. Thanks for your reviews and comments, and enjoy the reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own Persona save for Atlus.

* * *

Previously before the ending of the previous chapter…

Naganaki Shrine, night of the 8th

He went towards the shrine where the playground was, exploring the area but found no sign of the Velvet Room anywhere the teenager giving up after around ten minutes of searching before he moved on, the teenager making a mental note to ignore the local park in case of another attack while Leto continued to scan the area for Shadows. Kicking a stone while he gulped down on his MadBull energy drink, the muddy blonde sighed as he felt his body mass feel a little lighter while his head began to clear, the effects of the energy drink kicking in while his vision sharpened Felice taking another swig of the drink while reaching in his bag to grab a cracker snack.

"Hmm, no Igor or Margaret…guess they weren't lying when they told me they couldn't form doors during this hour unless it's necessary. Well great, it's been two freaking months and I don't even know how to approach them at all…what kind of guides are they anyway if they're not going to be around here to give me free advice?" Felice complained chomping on the cracker while he took sips of Madbull the student eventually sighed, this wasn't how he expected it to turn out but the words of Igor rang true about it being hard to conjure the doorway in this time. Knowing it was futile to continue searching aimlessly around the shrine for an impossible thing the boy had decided to skip that objective for another night, he would return to the shrine anytime since it was too soon, however the next stop that he had to go to was the one that took precedence for him Felice eating another cracker while he walked.

Moonlight Bridge, 40 minutes into the Dark Hour

"This place is the next stop." He muttered as he looked around the large bridge that connects Iwatodai to the Port Island mainland, the large wires and lengthy supports towering over the mass of cars which were crowded across the road in scattered lines, the empty hollow spaces in between being the only form of road that he could use to cut across the bridge his eyes noticing the coffins neatly snugged inside. "Sweet dreams, guys...not that you'll ever see something like this unless you're unlucky," he commented as he stuffed the plastic wrap for the crackers along with the empty can of Madbull the clink of metal on the concrete through the bag's layer echoing into the stale air, Felice looking out from the bridge onto the wide open blood red sea the sight giving chills while he shuffled from the rails looking around at the giant structure he was standing on.

"This is the very first step to understanding what happened here. Something was mentioned in the papers too, an accident that caused a city-wide evacuation of the citizens, definitely there must be a clue here for me." He said as he reached into his pocket, the teen pulling out a torn article reading the title for a moment before he sat on the boot of one of the cars kicking his legs into the air. "This is boredom at its finest…of all the clues that could point me somewhere this place is the only interest I can think of," he sighed as he looked at the newspaper clipping in hand, the man thumbing the article.

_Death under the Moonlight_

_The bridge that connected the Port Island to Iwatodai has become the site of an investigation to the unknown traffic accident that happened at the bridge causing the deaths of more than twenty people last night. The bridge's massacre was discovered when early traffic discovered the bridge filled with smoking cars and burnt bodies, with the survivors few and far between. Reporters attempted to question the victims three hours later at the hospital where many suffered traumatic stress and depression soon after, but police were able to rebuff further questioning until the commissioner addresses the public. The conference is scheduled to start at 10am tomorrow…_

"Hmm, nothing else could be found when my father told me about this…yet he gave this to me and told me I would know? Why?" The boy asked as he felt a little more confused than ever his eyes tracing the outline of vehicles in his wake, feeling a little sickened by the sight of blood everywhere. Taking the article, he stuffed it inside of his jacket pocket securing it with the clasp as he walked ahead jumping over a car hood to stand at the walkway of the bridge seeing the blood-red sea waves lapping at the edges.

"I…actually feel rather sick seeing this, that's normal isn't it? For a guy to be scared of things like this," he commented after a while holding the human desire to tear his eyes away and hurl the teen sighing as he reached into another pocket, his fingers grasping the object in his palm bringing it up to his face. In it was a small keychain with a lily at the end, scratches barely visible as he twirled it in his fingers spinning the small artifact by the band, "…what's the point of this article if I'm just going to be here all night without answers? What were you trying to tell me, article…tell me your secrets, what do I have to know?" Staring longer at the piece of paper, Felice growled and slammed his fist on the railing as metal met flesh and bone echoing with a dull reverberating thud, Felice inhaling deeply before he retracted his fist.

"What is the point of me coming here if this isn't going to help me know the truth?" He hissed as he stared at the article's contents again.

As far as Felice could recall, his memory of his childhood was like all others fuzzy with pieces of various information from other people and rumors stuck together, in fact the first memory he could remember prominently was waking up in a shelter outside of Port Island according to his father before slipping into a coma for nearly six years before waking…though what happened to his mother wasn't exactly good either, she was placed in a wheelchair unable to speak longer than a word or a nod during that time before she slowly recovered, by the time he had met her . From there life took off for him, his father had gone on to two towns before they stopped at Inaba over the period of three years where he then stayed for the duration of his childhood and into his first year of highschool…he figured he was around five years old when the memory of the shelter came, and according to his father it had been a day before his birthday even a really convenient time for hell to come over them. His father always commented how Felice had actually survived death on that particular day, how for twenty full minutes Felice was medically dead before his heart restarted and the doctors praising it as a miracle from the gods or just a regular miracle. Felice enjoyed the rest of his time in Inaba, he could still remember the sights of the country and the luring of the simple life as well as the enjoyment of steak skewers along the road with his mother who would accompany him on such trips all the while teaching him about general knowledge, her former career as a high school teacher had been helpful in his studies as he managed to earn passable grades in primary and middle school.

However such things didn't last, even with happiness and joy of having a full family there were questions that he soon formed about the reason behind his sudden death though Felice wasn't sure when he was so fascinated with the situation behind it, one day when he was in his home he suddenly had a desire to discover about his hazy past. His parents would naturally keep silent, the two of them shaking their heads with pained expressions as they gave passing answers to his queries all through his late childhood and back then it was taken without a grain of salt.

"You were in Port Island when an accident occurred, you were lucky to be even standing here…" or "You just had an accident that's all" were only a few of the responses followed by a loss of recollection or changing topics to avoid the questions, and for the longest time Felice was a little curious for answers taking in the smallest detail. Eventually the day came where he could finally have some edge over his parents in that regard, the teen doing something that was rather funny when he thought about it.

"_I want to go to Tatsumi Port Island while you're both away," the teen announced one day at the dinner table the clattering of chopsticks being the only sound as the sound of eating died immediately, his father shifting his eyes towards the table. "Oh?"_

"_Yeah, I was planning to study there since they have a better institution…I mean Yasogami High is good, but I wanted to get a better academic background as well for a job." He explained while his mother looked to her husband with a look of concern. "Honey, he's speaking to you. Aren't you going to say anything?"_

"_Hmm, I wanted to ask you something before I can even grant that kind of request," his father spoke looking up at his son who was smiling thinly as the man sighed his brown hair ruffled under the grip of his hand. "What exactly are you doing this for?"_

"_I don't know what you're talking about-"_

"_Don't lie to me son, is it about the story of that time? Are you so unsatisfied with the answers we've been giving, which meant that you were going to Port Island yourself?" Seeing his son's smile fade when he listed it, the father closing his eyes as he shook his head in refusal, the man noticing his wife placing down her fork while her fists clenched already becoming a lot more concerned at the change in atmosphere around the kitchen area as Felice placed his hands under the tablecloth wringing them. "If this is your idea of guising your intention to visit the site where you were nearly dead I would have to oppose that kind of notion or anything related to that place."_

"_Dad, you and Mother have been avoiding the damn question for too long…so far I can't remember anything besides waking up in a hospital shelter, I was put in a coma for years…six! So just when I ask why you just keep silent and tell me to read the papers for all the information I need when I don't know where you were then, I'm sick of all the dodging and avoidance from both of you. You two have been touchy about it since I started asking."_

"_Only because as I said before there is a reason why we don't talk about that place…that incident took more than just five years of your life through a damnable coma, it took your mother's mobility and her ability to do things for the rest of her life."_

"_Then why so defensive about an accident if that's what you two have been playing it off as? As far as I can tell, Mom is doing fine here, she's happy…she's still glad that we're together." Felice answered coldly while his father shook his head, the older man sighing as he stared at Felice. "I'm afraid that whatever you say can't change my mind, you are not going to Port Island and that is final." Felice immediately got up from his seat and left fuming as he did so, turning back to see his father who calmly resumed eating before he moved up the stairs._

The longest months stretched with Felice arguing with his father, although he had sent in the application anyway without his father's permission anyway so eventually the day came when he was accepted into Gekkoukan High school, and by this time a letter was sent to his father along with the acceptance letter privately read by him and Felice was genuinely surprised when his father came downstairs two days later. He had agreed to let him stay in Tatsumi Port Island, but only away from the city center if he could find lodgings for him, and that was that…however it opened up new questions for Felice who saw his father so adamant in his agreement suddenly become rather accepting of the decision in short notice. Then he gave him this article, and told him to go to the Moonlight Bridge whenever he was free to do so, citing the reason as remembering something. That was the last he ever heard of his father speaking of that time again, Felice was given the directions to where he needed to go and said his goodbyes before leaving Inaba for Port Island.

And it seemed he was right. But there was one more thing that began to bother him about the article that was in his hand, the teenager flipping over the clipping to look at one more headings dated around ten years ago. His parents were involved in a large accident but yet something didn't feel right to him, like the answer he was seeking was not satisfactory enough for him to accept, that Tatsumi Port Island was the place where he could reach and feel for the childhood that he enjoyed than sit around and listen to his parents giving him awkward looks and filling in the silence with anything but that time. He would admit there was something wrong if he wanted to revisit the site where he was supposedly dead for twenty minutes, but yet something inside of him drew him to this place just as he met Igor and Margaret for the first (?) time...it all seemed to fit together too perfectly. Was this the destiny and the disaster he would be thrown into again, like how his parents were?

He shook his head and read on.

_Moonlight disaster attributed to possible structural failure resulting in burst pipe leaks_

_At the conference at 10am, city council spokesperson Kariya battled with news reporters on the legitimacy of claims that the Moonlight Bridge had faced structural failures attributing to the discovery of burst pipes on the road of the bridge. The three hour conference descended into near argument before local security along with the police had to hold back the swarm of reporters which had nearly rose in protest against such 'outrageous claims' of falsifying an event, Kariya insisting that such incidents would happen anyway even with preventive measures stating 'nothing is ever so concrete in the terms of building safeties'. Kariya is one of the few council members who sits on the Port Island committee and has ties towards the Kirijo Group who has recently split from the Nanjo Group due to a difference in ideals, certain journalists have criticized the committee spokesperson for giving invalid reports._

"Kirijo...wait a minute, I never noticed this before." Felice narrowed his eyes reading the name of the company, his eyes lighting up.

"_**You've never heard of the Kirijo Group?"**_

"_**Hmm? Why, is there something that I should know or care about this Kirijo Group?"**_

"…_**I see, never mind."**_

The brief playback roughly played out in his head, the little snippet coming to mind confusing him slightly before he recalled the words whispered to him upon meeting the council president.

**Do not trust.**

What reason had he to suddenly not trust a girl who he just met out of the blue, and had a power similar to his? The answer was still obscured to him, and he didn't have much time to think it over as he decided to walk back home, his mood for exploration dying when he had gone over that particular train of thought. He had to look up the internet, or outright ask that Kirijo girl about that Group she was affiliated with…perhaps then he would find some form of answer to the questions that he held for himself. The moment his feet left the bridge, the green skies and bloodied marks vanished from sight replaced by the sea of carlights that zoomed by him as he walked home, the boy having much to think about to care while he walked forward ignoring the resuming passage of time.

9th April, Midnight

Like the previous night Felice had decided it was time to go to the Naganaki Shrine to find that door again but like the previous night it had been to no avail.

"Well that sucks, they're not even here anymore…wherever they are I bet they're biding their time until the right moment comes for me to meet them or something, then again that is what those guys would do when I think about it. I've never seen such unnatural people before, after that meeting even I have no idea what they are supposed to be if they aren't human." Felice felt his mind go into a full circle as he fingered his headphones, the wire still connected to a small player which was shoved in his shirt chest pocket the black plugin invisible in the night as he tugged the headphones.

"…Speaking of relics from the past, there's the matter of having these." He wondered aloud as he toyed with the headphones removing them from the scruff of his neck, his hands caressing the item in the grasp of his palms the teen tracing the design his rough fingers touching the smooth surface of the band going to the main components on either side. "I feel like I had these on me my whole life, but yet something tells me otherwise…who am I kidding here, asking questions to a headphone set and player?" Bringing the headphones over his neck, the teenager made his way over towards the Moonlight Bridge his determination steeling his focus from the confusing feelings rising in his mind.

"Who's out there? Hey!" Felice jolted upwards as he heard someone from behind calling out at his back with the sound of pattering shoes smacking against the concrete sidewalk, the youth walking onward without pause while Leto came to his side ready for his orders as if she had sensed the approaching presence from afar. The teen decided to walk faster, doing his best to ignore the approaching presence before he finally turned around out of curiosity coming face to face with a sight of silver white hair and a red sweater vest with pants along with the white shirt which was strange for Felice to tag as a school uniform, the teenager giving off the air of a senior as he held a leather gloved hand up.

"Hey, you…I wanted to talk to you!" The teen caught up to Felice who had his hood feature on, the darkness obscuring Felice's face while he stood head cocked to the side as a precaution against the silver-haired teen who was attempting to shift his head in seeing his face while he took short practiced breaths, the sweater vest wearing boy giving a neutral expression at the strange figure. "Hey, what are you doing out here by yourself at this time of night?"

Felice blinked as he gave a small gasp of surprise, the expression change unseen by the teen as he put on the best act he could pull taking a step back from the silver-haired guy. "Hey just to ask, you're…human aren't you? Not like one of those things out there right?"

"One of those things…" The silver-haired teen placed a hand over his mouth while Felice carried on with his 'scared guy' act, the teen tugging at his collar lightly between his pinching fingers the boy looking away at the concrete ground. "Look, I don't know what's going on! I've been looking around here for the past minute and all I've seen is the damn coffins and splotches of red blood everywhere while screams are happening all around," Felice replied putting a bit of emphasis on the damning features of the Dark Hour while he waved his hands out at the silver-haired teen. "What is going on out here? What is this?"

The silver haired senior wanted to reply before the scraping of steel suddenly echoed in the midst of the conversation, the duo pausing as Felice himself felt Leto stir within him bristling with caution and warning to the muddy blonde teen who was already preparing to get away before something from the corner of his left eye from the alleyway caused him to freeze, the senior seeming to notice this too as he followed his gaze and too froze at a very large abyssal presence staring at them, a faint light from the moon hitting the alley to give a blue glint Felice inwardly gasping when he noticed what the item was.

_Crap, another big Shadow?_

The sound of steel screeching against concrete was the last thing he heard before the senior tackled him to the ground a whizz of steel and the flash of light sliced cleanly into the tar road behind them another sword sticking itself into the concrete sidewalk leaving a fine cut. The two scrambled to their feet, the senior clicking his tongue as he looked back at Felice who was still staring dumbfounded by the large creature before he used one of his hands to shove Felice away from him as the senior reached for a waist holster strapped to his thigh unhooking the flap to bring out a pistol.

"Huh? Wait a minute there man, you can't just shoot something like that can you?" Felice called out in terror behind the silver-haired teen who ignored his moment of doubt before he replied confidently, his eyes narrowed in focus against the creature that was slithering out of the alley with a forest of hands and arms crept and grabbed at the edges of the buildings pushing itself out onto the street. "The pistol isn't for shooting that thing."

"What do you-hey hey hey, what the hell are you trying to do?!" Felice yelled out in surprise and internal shock as he saw the teen take the pistol…and place it against his forehead directly without skipping a beat or hesitance shown, the teenager was already ready to spring into action before the senior called out to him stopping Felice in his tracks to 'help' him. "Hey, get out of here kid if you don't wanna get caught in the crossfire when Polydeuces comes out! Go, run for it!"

_Polydeuces? _Felice thought as he continued with his act his hand throwing the wind in front of him aside. "Don't be stupid, I'm not to just leave you-!"

*Bang*

Change of POV

Akihiko didn't know what to think or feel as he stared down the abyssal monstrosity with many arms however a glance back at the innocent who was screaming at him while he held the gun to his forehead told him that if he didn't do this quick there will be someone getting hurt…and he wasn't about to let this damn monster take a life while he could do anything about it.

"Come…Polydeuces!" The echo of the gun shooting his temple brought forth the sound of glass breaking in the window of his psyche, the familiar influx of power filling his veins as he watched a metallic figure immediately jump into the fray clashing with the multitude of swords that the Shadow held in its many hands the mask falling back to the center as four arms with their blades blocked the monotone metal face while a small growl of joy was heard from the Shadow, prompting Akihiko to glare dangerously at it.

"Okay, let's see how you like this!" The teen watched as Polydeuces delivered a stunning blow to the assaulting weapons repelling their attacks away however the momentary victory was bittersweet as another five hands with blades sliced at Polydeuces causing Akihiko to take a few steps back the senior calling his Persona back while he changed his approach.

"Try this then!" _Zio!_

The flash of lightning smashed onto the large Shadow, enveloping it in a stream of blue light for a second before the creature tore through the small delay as ten swords sent Polydeuces crashing onto the ground disappearing back to its owner. Akihiko looked down at Polydeuces and then back at the Shadow for a split second the man turning on his heel and ran, his eyes barely noticing that Felice was already a distance away from him the senior reasoning that he was fleeing out of fear the teen about to catch up to the scared teenager a collection of five swords stabbed the ground in front of him forcing him to take a detour into the alleyway, the boy placing the pistol to his temple.

"Polydeuces!" The metallic Persona charged again exchanging blows as Akihiko exited the alleyway escaping across the road and towards the dorm his mind remembering the scared teen causing him to hesitate for a second.

"Damn, I should be protecting him…not running away like a coward!" He said before he summoned Polydeuces who barely blocked a wide swing at Akihiko's general direction, the boy however unable to see an arm grab him wrapping itself around his body as Akihiko struggled however his strength wasn't even enough for resisting before the hand threw him against the wall the sickening crunch of his left arm against the wall behind his back causing him to yell in pain as he crumpled, falling flat on the ground before the teen using his other arm to bring himself up to his feet as Polydeuces' endurance and strength allowed him to withstand the attack head on. However, even as Akihiko grabbed his weapon and glared at the Shadow internally his rational half was already agreeing that this fight was something not worth continuing, Akihiko staring at his broken arm with disdain as he bit his lower lip.

_Damnit, at least the innocent is out of the way but I have to make sure. Follow me, monster! _Akihiko immediately dug his feet into the asphalt and launched his legs off into the opposite direction of the large mass of hands stiffening for a second before five arms launched themselves towards their fleeing prey intent to kill while Akihiko turned the corner silently hoping that the creature did not do so at all.

"That's no way to fight," a voice called out to the Shadow as the swords found themselves being swallowed into the dark before the Shadow mask fell upon the sight of a boy who stood up from the darkness, a woman in robes at his side towering him. "I won't let you kill him so easily," Felice spoke as he stared after where Akihiko had disappeared the boy closing his eyes as he looked back at the Shadow his hand reaching for the knife at his side before he retracted it Leto charging up a Garu spell at the approaching mass of hands glaring dangerously.

"Let's go at it." The Shadow sent five swords coming at him as Leto sent out a Garu, hiding Felice in the floor as the creature barely flinched stabbing into the road relentlessly where the boy was. Seeing that the attack had no effect, the Shadow looking around while Felice appeared behind it Leto preparing a different tactic.

"Over here." The boy said as a Bufu riddled the Shadow with the shards of ice but instead of being hurt, the Shadow had completely stood still taking the hit like it was nothing. Clenching his teeth, Felice threw another series of Bufu and Garu at the Shadow which didn't seem affected by the attack the boy keeping his distance his mind racing already.

"Crap." _Don't tell me this thing is resistant to elemental loadouts?_ Sensing hesitation, the Shadow quickly took advantage and threw two of its blades from its multiple arms the blades acting as spears as it buried itself a step from him while he ran in a zigzagged trail. The Shadow however grew restless and began to throw five to ten in a simultaneous barrage as Felice bit his tongue, the teenager stopping in his tracks as he threw out his hand.

"Grrr…Toíchos." The swords flew around him while a direct sword smashed against the solid invisible wall the blade barely touching his head as it clattered to the ground, the echo of the steel ringing in his ears from the shockwave while he felt his body tire the exhaustion straining his body. The Shadow staggered back from the sudden repulsion of its attacks, roaring in anger that the insignificant prey had not been eliminated from that move as the mass rushed the tired Persona-user.

"…" Felice looked down at his body which had froze due to a bout of tiredness and the shockwave turning his legs to jelly before a large black hand grabbed him and threw him across the street the student smashing against the side of a car and fell down onto the road Felice coughing out blood as he spat it throwing a Garu at the mass, earning the same result as the Shadow walked through the magic barrage unaffected. Looking down on its defenseless victim who was already showing signs of weakness, the Shadow was showing more confidence in its attacks immediately following it up with a large fist aiming to crush the teen. Felice barely brought up the counter wall before he was punched into the vehicle and the road his vision blackened as he felt something grab him however his fading consciousness could barely register it while the Shadow encased the student in the grasp of its hand staring at the limb as though fascinated by something, the creature turning its attention away to see the silver-haired boy from earlier staring at him. Seconds earlier Akihiko had only just made three blocks away from the short skirmish between Felice and the Shadow, the silver-haired fighter turning around to see the Shadow coming around the corner near a broken vehicle which had been smashed by something, the black mass looking at its hand before he caught its attention the Shadow's mask leaning forwards as a forest of arms dragged the large mass along the road stabbing the road with several blades while two others whizzed through the air in wild untamed arcs Akihiko using Polydeuces to deflect a blow from entering a building as he fled.

"Oh no, it's coming!" He uttered as he continued to sprint madly, using a mixture of pauses in between sprints for summoning Polydeuces to hold back the swarm of blades while he raced across the pavement tapping into his earpiece hearing nothing but static, the silver-haired fighter growling in irritation while he winced from his arm. "Come on damnit pick up already…Mitsuru, Mitsuru!"

"What is it, Akihiko?!" The sound of his teammate brought him relief as he sighed out in relief though the lack of air due to his running let him gasp out as he tried to take another deep breath. "Well, bad news…I'm being chased by a really large Shadow, it's not even showing signs of giving up."

"What?" Akihiko couldn't really explain as he stumbled the teen feeling the pain in his left arm spike up again causing him to hiss though he managed to suppress it, the senior speaking first before any elaboration could be needed from his teammate as he ran for his life. "Look I can't really explain but I have to get to the dorm, be ready to fight when I arrive there," Akihiko ordered as he carried on his dash ignoring the reply from Mitsuru while he tried to navigate himself around the neighbourhood, the Shadow still hot on his tail.

Rooftop, present

"So…*hah*, you gonna finish it…or not?" Felice spoke as he sat on his knees bleeding heavily while the two dumbstruck teenagers stared at him, his arms aching sore from the heavy attack he faced earlier taking its toll as he watched Yukari shift herself to stand in front of both males as she took out the gun at her thigh the girl bringing it to her head as Yuki felt his emotions go into haywire mode, the action of her placing the weapon against her head was the last thing he needed to see as he moved towards her.

"Stop, don't come any closer to me Makoto-kun!" Yukari's voice became a stern command as Yuki stopped the sword still in his hand. Turning back to cast her eyes on the large Shadow, Yukari continued to grip the gun to her head shuddering as her eyes found themselves unable to tear away from the looming chamber of the gun, the sight terrifying her.

_Come on, pull the trigger! It's not real, it's not real…_

Felice meanwhile had already noticed the girl's hesitation, the wounded teen attempting to call on Leto before his concentration broke from the pain in his ribcage causing him to kneel over with his elbows propped against the floor to support his upper body nearly collapsing from the overwhelming pain. "Damnit…" he echoed out as the Shadow had taken notice of the two newcomers and at Yukari before it growled, one of its hands shooting out like a bullet and slapped the girl aside relinquishing her of the gun letting it slide across towards Yuki who couldn't catch the hand's movement at all, the boy looking in shock as Yukari slid across the floor unconscious from the blow and leaving all three at the mercy of the large Shadow creeping onto the rooftop, the black mass slowly dragging its way over to Yuki who was still in shock.

Change of POV

Yuki was drawing absolute blanks in his head, the boy staring ahead at the creature which had thrown out the other transfer student from its grasp while Yukari was frozen. Then upon seeing her draw the gun she had trained on him and placed it right at her temple did the boy snap out of his shock, immediately rushing to get her away from the dangerous weapon.

"Stop right there! Don't get any closer to me, Makoto-kun!" That made him pause, her grip was tightly enclosed on the trigger and that small reaction to him made him stop completely so to ensure she didn't do anything reckless. As the girl tried her best to pull the trigger, he could hear Felice letting out a frustrated grunt just before a black hand snapped out and slapped the girl across the face and sprawled over the floor while Felice struggled to move, Yuki feeling a piece of metal hit his shoe toe as he stared downward at the small metallic gun at his feet.

_**Go on…**_

Picking it up with his right hand, he unknowingly traced the barrel of the gun noticing there wasn't a cock on it, no magazine holder save for the trigger which he touched with his index but not pulling it. The more he looked at it, something in his mind was asking him to place it to his head like the girl, the flash of the boy in the criminal outfit smiling at him as his hand brought the weapon to his head.

_**Why so hesitant?**_

Yuki felt panic as he held the weapon firmly to the side of his temple, the boy barely paying attention as he stared at the monstrosity which was crawling slowly towards them the dragging of swords onto the concrete creating sparks as two hovered over Felice's body the weapons dangling with precision and lethal intent.

_**You know how to use it…**_

But what point did this serve? Why was he just doing it…wouldn't he die from this even if there was no magazine? The logical questions were being drowned out as white noise overcame his instincts as he trembled slightly, the reality that he was pointing a real life gun to his head was the one fact that was preventing him from pulling the trigger like Yukari was. However though, what difference would it make if he did?

**This boy is a monster…**

**He survived while his parents died, what makes him so special?**

**What rotten luck that a son should live while his parents die…**

**His mental health is at risk, we shouldn't let him into any institution of education.**

**What choice does he have if you take away his life?**

"P-P…"

**Isn't he taking his parents' death so well?**

"Per…"

**Why wouldn't he, a person like that…**

"..so…"

**Tell me something Yuki…why do you keep on going like this?**

_**Isn't this what you've always wanted?**_

At that point, a split second from that point onward Yuki Makoto let out the biggest grin that he had never done in his entire life since his parents died, the image of the blue-haired boy in the striped outfit looking at him while playing with his long sleeves smiling at him as Yuki gave a light nod. In that instant he wrapped the trigger with his index in a semi-circular grip, as time stopped at that moment before he made the decision.

"…na."

He heard the gun echoing with a loud bang.

Back to normal general POV

"What…the…shit?" Felice echoed his thoughts aloud as he spied the blue-haired boy who had taken the pistol and without another moment's hesitation fired the gun a loud banging sound making him squeeze his eyes shut for a moment, wincing before he heard the Shadow halt in its destructive tracks the large mass of black stopping short glaring at Yuki. Felice cracked his eye open then, his consciousness starting to return to him while Yukari cracked open her eyes spying the back of Yuki standing tall in front of her while Felice laid in front staring up at the boy, shock coming to her. Floating above him was a metallic being holding a harp while a red scarf was draped around its neck a head of silver hair flowing in the night illuminating the darkness, Yukari almost rubbing her eyes to make sure she was seeing things clearly while Felice let out a snort.

"Heh *cough*…flashy."

"…Makoto…kun?"

"I am Orpheus, the master of strings…I have emerged from the very depths of your soul." The robotic being announced as it unhooked its lute from its back ready for battle, its master staring up at the Persona with surprise before Yuki shuddered a sickening feeling beginning to stir in his stomach. A sudden jerk from the teen caused him to clutch his head a sharp pain in his head, Yuki letting out a sharp cry of pain while he stumbled backwards the ringing becoming louder while both teens realized it wasn't just Yuki who was being affected. Orpheus was shaking and jittering almost like a puppet with its strings cut, the Persona letting out a sharp cry which both teens could attribute to pain before the most disgusting sight followed starting with Orpheus' head leaning back and two hands tore their way out of its throat as its metallic body began to tear apart.

"W-What the hell is this? Orpheus is…" Yukari gasped as the Persona's ripped body fell away to reveal a large intimidating beast of a creature with a skull like helmet and a semi-circle of shields resembling coffins bound by a chainlink standing tall behind its master. Howling a deathly roar, the newly formed Persona charged towards the large Shadow as it shook out of its hesitation and brought its swords raining down on the Persona while the two swords above Felice fell upon him simultaneously the Shadow aiming to fulfil its objective of taking at least one of the teenagers down.

"Damn it *cough*…Shadow Haven." He uttered as he felt the last of his strength die out with his elbows, Leto appearing above him with a look of concern at the wounded student. Waving a hand over him she coated him with darkness before he sank into the floor and reappeared safely beside Yukari who was unable to speak or notice as she watched the Persona tear the large Shadow's arms with a bare hand and finally slicing the large mask in half, causing the massive black creature to disappear in a hiss of reddish black particles while letting out a final chilling death scream. The creature howled towards the moon before it vanished soon after as Orpheus replaced the monster and came to the side of a kneeling Yuki shortly before disappearing into thin air again, the boy feeling his head grow dizzy from the sudden wave of nausea upon summoning that…thing while he tightened the grip on his head the rapier lying at his side.

"Makoto-kun, look out!" Yukari warned as two Mayas crawled out of the concrete floor their masks glinting in the moonlight while they charged at Yuki the boy glancing upward as he didn't flinch putting the gun to his head and fired again Orpheus answering his master's call while Yuki snatched the handle of the rapier getting to his feet to run. "Agi!" The master of strings didn't hesitate as it strummed the lyre the hollow note sent out a burst of fire stunning a Maya before he jumped slicing the mask of the second Maya clean off as it disappeared the remaining Maya charging again at Yuki, the bluenette calling Orpheus to attack with its lyre smashing the instrument atop of the Maya crushing the mask into pieces as peace soon fell upon the rooftop, the fight ending quickly.

"Orpheus…" Yuki muttered as the master of strings disappeared, the blue-haired boy feeling faint while Yukari felt blood return to her feet the girl looking in disbelief at what had happened as she took a cautionary step towards Yuki. "Makoto-kun?"

Turning around, the blue-haired boy gave her a wide smile his grip loosening on the rapier as it fell to the floor clattering and rolling aside, his vision blurred due to a lack of focus as he blinked once, his expression showing genuine concern for the girl. "Yukari-san, are you alright?" Seeing Yukari nod with a small tremble Yuki closed his eyes breathing out a breath of relief his shoulders completely loosened from the tension while he felt like he was about to fly. "Good…"

*thump*

"Makoto-kun!" Yukari ran to Yuki as he fell on his back unable to listen further as his consciousness left him, the gun joining him on the floor before the door to the roof opened to usher Akihiko, Mitsuru and Ikutsuki who rushed onto the scene seeing Yukari holding the unconscious Yuki who had gone into sleep. "Takeba!"

"Yukari, are you alright?" Akihiko asked as he joined Mitsuru who had gone to see Yuki's still body his left arm hanging limply while his right arm supported it at the shoulder, Yuki breathing lightly with his eyes closed while Akihiko couldn't help but crack a smile seeing that everything was alright. "Wow, what amazing power…he is an interesting guy if he can shoot himself with the Evoker without much trouble," Akihiko praised the unconscious boy while Mitsuru fell into thinking about something before she dismissed it the girl pushing her thoughts aside for a slight shed of joy that things had not gone out of hand if not for Yuki's…interesting intervention. The Kirijo heiress made a mental note to ask Yuki about SEES soon when he had recovered, Ikutsuki in the meantime had already retreated to the inside of the building with the intent of calling in the nearby hospital to take the casualties in.

"Mitsuru," Akihiko called out to Mitsuru who turned to her right seeing her fellow high school senior staring at the fallen figure of Felice who was out cold with dried blood crusting on his forehead and upper face his body sprawled out on his back, the Kirijo heiress almost withholding her urge to blanch at the blood before she replied her arms still crossed. "The chairman is in the communications room contacting the doctors there, the Dark Hour is about to end so there should be no problems in quick transportation…how is he?"

Akihiko shrugged, the man looking at the ground in some measure of guilt. "Well it's not looking good. He's broken a rib or two besides the concussion and a sprained ankle, but it doesn't change the fact that he is banged up pretty bad. It would take at least a month or more before he can make such a recovery in that time even when I used Dia to get the cuts on his head sealed up." He reported as he looked at the knocked out boy for a second before he shook his head his leather gloved hands squeezing tightly, "if only I had just stayed with him then none of this would have happened then. How did I not see that this guy was a Persona user or that he had powers if he could have walked around the place so freely?"

"Hm." The heiress didn't reply in full, the redhead giving Akihiko a softer gaze than her usual stern expression the girl holding her elbow in her arm. "Akihiko the fault wasn't yours if you couldn't make it to him, but what matters is that he is still alive and everything worked out fine in the end…we're all alive, that's what matters. Though I would admit," she turned to gesture at the muddy blonde still covered in blood with a contemplative look on her face, "he would be a valuable team member of SEES since he showed that he has control over the power of Persona to an unknown extent."

"Well, you're right but I think we should worry about both of them getting medical attention right now. I'll go get first aid and bandages for him," Akihiko advised as he walked towards the door to the rooftop his body's slight slant to the left being the only indication his arm was broken in the fight, the boy letting out a soft hiss on his way out but stiffened his body before leaving Mitsuru to watch Felice with a troubled look on her face and back at where Akihiko had disappeared to. Seeing the transfer student on the floor was worrying for her regarding his case as it stood, for him to move around for the majority of the Dark Hour without succumbing to the effects of Apathy Syndrome or turning into a Shadow he had shown qualities relating to that of a Persona user and combine that with the fact he had walked around the entire school with her during that last day of term too made her feel a pang of guilt for not noticing anything off about him. With such qualities and the fact his little display of power was witnessed by all three of them in the control room, there was no doubt in her mind that Ikutsuki would be willing to get him as a team member to SEES and she would have to agree as well.

"Senpai…" Yukari had walked over to Mitsuru's side before she looked down at the second injured body of the battle. "Isn't he that new guy from class 2-E?"

"It seems so." Mitsuru replied as she withdrew from him, Yukari lost in thought as she barely heard Mitsuru's words behind her as the heiress briskly made her way to the exit. "I will be going to look for Akihiko, no doubt he wants to strain himself despite the damage to his arm…take care of them, Takeba."

April 13th, unknown

"Welcome, dear guest." Felice awoke to a familiar voice greeting him with friendliness, the muddy blonde wiping the sleep from his eyes before he found himself in a very familiar room with clock faces upon the wall, his head spinning from the rough sleep he had been getting while he exhaled, Igor gesturing to him with a wave of his hand on the opposite side of the table. "Do not worry, you're fast asleep in the real world…I have summoned you here through your dreams."

"Ugh…" Felice replied while he tried to stabilize his vision, Igor patiently waiting while Margaret sat on an armchair her hand enclosed on the book staring at something within the pages, the student massaging his forehead. "Igor, it's been two long months since we last talked. So where were you guys?"

"We're always in here," Igor gestured to the Velvet Room while seeing his guest scowl. "But I know you didn't come here to be subjected to more riddles, I summoned you here to speak to you about your power, Persona." Igor stated while Felice ruffled his hair with a hand the teen's eyes shifted towards the clocks on the walls to notice that unlike before the clock hands on every one had stopped abruptly, the room was full of silence other than the echoes of the occupants' voices. Noticing his eyes wandering Igor took a glance around the room while chuckling in amusement, his bulging eyes brimming with interest while Margaret continued to read paying no attention to the other two in the room. "Yes, it seems that a change has affected the room as well, the clocks stopped exactly the moment you had arrived here and have not moved a twitch. Things like these symbolize and craft an intimate pictorial insight into the soul, don't you agree so too dear guest?"

"Why am I here?"

"Straight as ever, I see. Do you still believe that you have the power to see through your destiny? Or has that night changed you to believe in otherwise?" Igor wondered aloud to himself making sure that Felice could hear his thoughts as the teenager shifted in his seat the boy clenching a fist before he stared up at Igor giving him a deathglare. "I promised upon the contract that I would uphold the responsibilities of the mistakes and the decisions that I have and yet to make in the course of my journey. In such a contract's face I have my doubts but I believe that the person who signed this contract was probably looking out for my well-being. With that in mind how can I walk away," he recited for Igor the man seemingly smiling as he nodded in response towards his answer the man waving a hand to spread out a row of cards.

"Excellent news, I am glad that you have found your way. Now about why I summoned you…there seems to be a very special circumstance that has occurred to your contract when you had accepted the terms and its conditions, I would much rather like you to know about that," Igor's words made Felice lift his head the teenager tuning in on his words as the man flipped out two blank cards in front of him Igor tenting his fingers after he had shown the cards. "You desire to be stronger, a desire stemming from conviction that was given to you however...you do not have access to the Wild Card as a result of something that caused you and the contract to restrain it from your grasp, perhaps in the hands of fate there is a reason for such an unfavorable result in your power."

"Wild Card…?" The name rolled off his tongue yet for some reason he felt animosity towards this power though he couldn't pinpoint why.

"Yes, guests are bestowed the gift of Personas with the authority to enter this room and access the Wild Card which opens up a universe of possibilities, the beginning of new roads and from these roads more potential can be revealed to the contractor as he finds and experiences new turns in his road." Igor explained as he pointed a creepy long finger towards Felice who felt a little apprehensive from the sudden action of his jerking finger Igor keeping the grin plastered permanently on his face. "However it seems you are not able to tap into that power, but yet there is potential for you to develop the small stream of possibilities given to you…a most interesting outcome is it not?"

"A guest who does not have the Wild Card is most special indeed, normally those who have signed the contract and have access to our services have the advantage of tapping into the power of the Wild Card to aid them on their journey. Such a thing like yours is unheard of," Margaret explained as she shut the book in her hands leaving it on her lap. "Your circumstances have added a specific condition within the contract that accepts you being restrained from using the Wild Card and cannot be revoked over the course of your journey."

"So…what do you mean by possibilities? Why call me now?" Felice questioned as Igor lowered his hands on the table where the cards laid. "I've called you for the express purpose to say that despite your restrictions there are a few paths open to you where you may develop your Persona's power. I have consulted which Arcana would be the paths you can take in developing their talent and creating new Personas in that field." Igor added as he set the two blank cards aside and threw out two other cards which were face down the similar masks were staring up at Felice who was leaning a little forward.

"Now shall we look at your potential?" Igor asked as he reached for the card on the left and flipped it over. On it was a sight of a man who was upside down with an orb of light around the circumference of the man's head the expression on the man's face was stoic and meditative while a rugged cross hung behind him. "The Hanged man..." Another card flipped over to reveal the familiar skull with two scythes in front of a door, Felice raising a brow as he felt his mind becoming unsettled by the imagery before Igor's voice cut through his discomfort. "And Death, these are the extent of your potential."

"Two huh…?" Felice took the card of Death in his hand the teen looking at the fine detail of the card's picture before nodding. "I see, if that is what I've been given I may as well just use it then," Felice declared.

"I'm sure that even where your power is limited, your decisions will ultimately steer the course you've set yourself on," Igor said eagerly as the card disappeared from the table leaving the surface occupied with the two blank cards on the table, Igor pushing one of them towards him while Felice looked on confused. "This is a Persona card…cast your finger on it."

"Huh, what does this do for me?" Felice questioned as he looked at the blank card and then at Igor and Margaret, the boy turning back to the card hesitant in following through. Felice had a feeling that Margaret sensed it because after an extended period of time he heard her address him intently. "Is there something wrong with what we request of you?"

"Uh, no, not at all but I just can't see the reason behind doing such a ridiculous thing." Felice said hurriedly coming up with an excuse before Margaret sighed. "Truly you are being difficult unable to try something that is unknown to you, where is that, how your world calls it, 'spring of youth' that all young people crave?" Margaret asked as Felice felt his head get heavier, the student withdrawing his outstretched finger from the card.

"There is no way I will be doing anything unless there is a valid reason behind it," he stated firmly as Igor pushed the card towards him by a margin the man waiting patiently while Felice continued to stay rooted into his seat his finger close to his chest while he stared at Igor ignoring Margaret as best he could. Igor eventually broke the stalemate of silence without any sign of irritation or annoyance at the delay, his smile sticking to his lips like super glue. "We can sit here all day, unlike your days which are numbered we residents of the Velvet Room do not truly know the value of age."

_I already knew that, _Felice's mind lied on the spot though his expression was contrary to the thought before he raised his finger and slowly inched it towards the card, the teen feeling the intense stares upon his isolated finger the fleshy extension of his limb quivering out of discomfort at the unseen attention while his mind was starting to self-pressure itself. "Argh…"

Tap. The soft surface of the card met his fingertip as an eerie calm settled on the room, Felice feeling his eyes blink only once before he had touched it the stares from the other two were intensifying the longer he held his finger in place, Felice squirming in his seat while his finger stayed perfectly still refusing to leave the safety bubble of the card that it had constructed around itself to shield the stares. Hearing the silence digging into his ear while he sat there, Felice eventually pulled his finger away his face becoming stern as he stared at the card intently.

"Nothing happened."

Igor shrugged. "Well, that is all I needed to know. Now time marches on in your world and I am afraid we've overstayed your welcome into this room, so we will be taking our leave. But before we do, hold onto this." With a wave of his hand Igor produced a small velvet key in the air floating down onto Felice's hands giving him the trademark smile as he closed his eyes. "The next time you'll come here will be out of your own free will…until then develop your power and increase your potential, farewell."

"Wait a minute, the next time? What do you-"

"-mean…" Felice's eyes shot open just as the Velvet Room cut to black and reformed with a burst of color and light in his shining red orbs, the muddy blonde locks shifting comfortably in the bed while he looked side to side his neck relaxed in the burrows of the hospital pillow exploring his surroundings which meant that he was back in reality. Felice noted the whitewashed walls and the ceiling above settling to the window on his left where a glass vase of artificial flowers were stuffed in the contents and water filled half of the container sitting atop a small end table with a clipboard hung over the rail of the bed Felice not needing to think twice to know he was officially placed in a hospital, the white drapes of the curtains fluttering as the wind entered the warm room cooling it down while Felice felt the prickling of the rough patient uniform against his neck and chest, the muddy blonde shifting his body only to freeze up in unbearable pain.

"Gah! My chest…" He looked down lifting the covers to see a strip of white, forcing his body in place as he felt stiff prompting him to lie back onto the bed with his hands going numb.

*click*

"H-Huh…who's…" Felice slowly spoke out trembling at the immobility of his body as his ribs strained in protest from moving too much just as his visitor came into the room stopping short of the corner while Felice tried to piece together his thoughts as the aftereffects of sun exposure and sleep were still lingering on his focus Felice attempting to incline his head towards the doorway to catch sight of pink.

"Hey…you're that girl, aren't you?"

End


	7. Anger, Nightly Visitor

Festivities

Author's notes: This is the next chapter to the story.

Well the Magician Arcana is dealt with, I wanted to give him the resistance to elementals and if he were a boss he would be recklessly using physical attacks without abandon I suppose. Well it is debatable but the guy died before he could show his stuff, thanks Thanatos for that.

This will focus on a small interaction with Felice before it skips to the main story pumping it along.

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona, but it does owe me 76 hours of my life…my god, what have I become?

* * *

Hospital, April 13th

She closed the door to Makoto's room, the girl stepping out with relief in her body language while she pivoted herself and walked down the hall towards the next guest that she intended to visit. For Makoto it was simply to talk with his unconscious self as well as keep an eye on the recovery of the blue-haired rescuer who protected her when she couldn't find the inner strength to bring out her power, she owed something to Yuki for that night. Toying with her cardigan sleeve, Yukari made her way down to the counter on the floor of the hospital the nurse at the small desk looking up to see the approaching visitor, the woman in white folding her arms as her red nail polished fingers brushed aside a pen to fold itself up with its partner hand. "Who are you looking for today, miss?"

"I would like to see where another person from school called Felice is staying."

The nurse seemed to drop her friendly face, the woman releasing a deep sigh as she scooped up the file of patient names perusing the pages while she spoke past the desk which blocked some of her volume, Yukari looking around the halls to see hardly anyone other than one nurse who was entering a ward closing the door in her wake to obscure anything going on within. "Ah yes, the foreigner…it's a rather bad case, I'm afraid. Broken ribs and gnashes on his forehead alongside other external cuts, I was rather shocked that one so young could be harmed like this..."

"Mhm." Yukari offhandedly remarked as she ignored most of her words staring off down the hall seeing a doctor and nurse pair exiting a patients room the doctor taking down notes in his clipboard while the nurse was busy attending to another room, Yukari not needing to wait long before the woman closed her file and took her pen. "Yes, Mr. Armbruster is currently staying at our critical ward which is just down the hallway at the door on the left. I would also advise you do not touch or wake the patient as his broken ribs have yet to be healed and he cannot shift around." Yukari gave a small bow of her head in thanks briskly walking through the hallway stopping short of the door which bore the name of Felice on the nameplate, Yukari pushing down on the lever as she stepped through closing the door behind her as softly as she could so to not make too much noise and wake the patient, the girl taking slow deliberate steps towards the edge of the wall which obscured the hospital bed and its occupant from view.

"Gah, my chest…huh, who's…there?" Yukari halted as soon as Felice's voice cut through the quiet air, his gasp of pain mixed with curiosity at sensing a presence caught her off guard before she stepped out from the wall her hands behind her back as she leaned a little forward in greeting the muddy blonde haired student lying in the bed with the covers to his chin the boy cracking an eye open in surprise at her presence. "Hey…you're the one from…."

"Hey yourself," Yukari replied as she took the seat by the bedside settling herself down on the chair pushing her knees together while her hands clasped one another tightly. Almost immediately Yukari fell into a short period of silence, Yukari inwardly was wondering what topic to pursue which would get Felice away from the brief realities of the world. "Well, I wanted to see if you were okay. You were hurt badly I was surprised you managed to pull through with the injuries you were suffering."

"Hnn." Felice looked to the side before he replied to her statement of concern with a ghost of a smile. "Right, thanks for asking but in all honesty I've never felt better though my chest needs some time to recover, apparently there isn't a magical cure that just heals broken ribs or deep gnashes in a flash…I am going to miss school while I'm here," he spoke while a finger traced the thin wrap of white around his forehead the bandage roughly clipped around his forehead so that he couldn't place his finger underneath, his skin itching under the fabric as he opted to trace his finger on the bandage.

"So besides coming over to see if I'm okay, is there anything you wanted to talk to me about?" He asked as Yukari gave a little grimace while she stiffened in her seat. "What's wrong with you? You're looking a lot stiffer than before, are you sick?" Felice asked as he looked questionably at her, his mind already starting to connect the dots as Yukari shook her head in reply to his question, Yukari stood up pushing the chair back with a loud creak walking over to the window her pink cardigan swaying in the breeze at the sleeves, the room becoming quiet all of a sudden as if the sounds of the world outside was turned on mute as Yukari crossed her hands on the windowsill the girl letting out a deep exhale.

"I know you're a Persona user."

"…"

"You're not going to say anything?" Yukari asked as she felt the air grow tenser than when it first started, the girl turning to see Felice with his head tossing to the right attempting to look away from her as he sorted out his thoughts within. "I didn't see it directly but I only noticed that you managed to move from danger and appear next to me, so I had my suspicions about you and then with the footage from that night was how I knew you had a power like that."

Felice felt his heart sink a little as he spoke. "So now that you know, what's going to happen to me?" He said sadly as Yukari said nothing the girl didn't look back at him while her finger tracing the heart shaped choker caressing the large heart feature in her index and ring, tugging it with the leather band on her neck. "Nothing yet, so far only those who are at the dorm building knows exactly what happened that night and with what you've done, they'll most likely want to talk to you soon."

"No doubt attempting to lure me in with a righteous cause, like so many in the damn world." He spoke bitterly as he saw Yukari bristle, the boy immediately regretting his words when Yukari whispered out the words to him. "Well that's just you talking."

"Well, I wanted to talk about what you witnessed on that night when you woke up too when I said I wanted to check up on you." Yukari admitted as her voice returned to normal, leaning uncomfortably against the windowsill with her back facing the open window, Felice falling into deathly silence while he heard her speak. "I'll explain it since you're awake now, though I wouldn't stress out on the details too much with your condition." Yukari said assuredly as she clasped her hands together out of nervousness as she was unsure of his reaction to such sudden news, "but I guess I can start with what that thing was. What Yuki fought last night was a Shadow though it is the biggest creature we've witnessed for the first time."

"Shadow…" Felice muttered to himself as he sucked his lower lip in thought recalling that rambling tattooed man Takaya for some reason. "I heard that term before from somewhere in fact they give off the idea from their appearances though the masks are some creepy idea."

"Shadows are the terms dubbed to these creatures that roam around the Dark Hour, you know the view of blood and the coffins everywhere? The coffins are part of the transmorgrifying process that humans do to prevent themselves from falling prey to Shadows," Yukari continued her explanation as Felice genuinely was confused tilting his head towards her. "Transmorgrify?"

"Oh right, it's a human defense mechanism acting like a mental and physical shield from the Shadows, thus the coffin. It gives off the feeling that the person is dead in the Dark Hour and so Shadows don't assault them, though once in a blue moon there are instances when the transmorgrification doesn't work at all and the human is left stranded in the Dark Hour, making them easy prey for Shadows." Yukari's words brought back the memory of the couple and the single victim Felice had met during his two months, the teen feeling a little unnerved as he gripped the sheets underneath the blanket. "Huh, so what makes us all special then? Why are we able to walk around in the Dark Hour at all if we're easy prey?"

"Simple, what Makoto-kun did was a power called Persona which can combat Shadows on equal ground. That gun you saw me carrying and him using was an Evoker that helps channel the Persona out from us which was why I didn't want Makoto-kun to interfere with the process then on the rooftop."

"I understand, I was confused for a moment." Felice spoke up as he looked at Yukari the muddy blonde meeting her eyes. "So are you here to simply talk to me about Shadows and the Dark Hour? Or is there something else that you wanted to clarify for yourself aside from me?"

"Huh? No, that's not it…I was just concerned for both you and Makoto-kun, that's all. There's no secret to it," Yukari spoke as she noticed that Felice's neutral expression turning sour the girl waving her hand in front of her as if to push the possibility of deception away from her physical being. "Makoto-kun saved my life and you were just a person who was caught up in all this, I felt that you would needed-no, desired an explanation to what was going on since you were…you know."

"Right, Persona users gotta stick together and stuff like that." He muttered as Yukari let out a small laugh at his slight misery. "Are you always such a downer about things like that?"

"I could say the same when I ask if you are paranoid yourself," Felice returned without a smile as he saw her tense slightly. "But I won't push you too far about that, I'm sure you had your reasons for teaming up…" Felice closed his eyes as he felt the warmth of the pillow and the bed luring him to sleep while Yukari took it as a sign to leave, stepping towards the exit.

"Hey, just one question…" Felice called out to her before she could disappear around the corner, Yukari looking back at him while he looked up at the ceiling voicing out his question towards the large canopy of plaster and wood. "You were so busy speaking to me, but you never told me who you are. What's your name?"

"Oh, right…I was so busy talking to you about Shadows and the Dark Hour that I forgot to introduce myself properly." Yukari said as she gave a light bow of her head. "Yukari Takeba."

"Yukari…" Felice tested the word on his lips, the boy nodding as he committed the name to memory nodding his head in appreciation under the sheets hearing the door to his room close in front of him, Felice snuggling into the sheets to get some rest. "What a sweet tasting name…it almost sounds like a snack or a flower."

* * *

April 16th

"Welcome my dear guest." The eyes of one Yuki Makoto opened up as he saw a light flash in his face for a moment before it died away in the dark of the room he was in, Yuki staring out at his surroundings before he went back to the table in the middle of the room. Sitting at the end of the table with his long lanky arms resting on the table by the elbows was a man in a formal suit staring at him with balding white hair and a long nose resting atop his white gloves, the man staring at Yuki who was watching him with both an air of curiosity and a slightly apathetic reaction to this strange environment. "How are you feeling since awakening to your potential for the first time?"

"…"

"I suppose you are wondering where you are, welcome to the Velvet Room." Igor stretched out his hands while Yuki didn't reply the boy's hands placed on the couch's cushioned seat. "This is a dream?"

Igor grinned with a bit of luminescence behind the bulging whites of his eyeballs. "Exactly so, this is a dream and I have summoned you from the land of your own dreams to be here today. In fact this was to formally introduce ourselves to you, and to tell you of our services which we can use to aid you in the course of your journey." A small cough from the side attracted Yuki to the right of Igor before he noticed there was a third occupant in the room besides the man with the long nose.

And Yuki felt his heart stop for a moment as he was struck by the short white hair and alluring golden irises which met his light blue hues of color the sight of a girl around his age stood holding a book in her hands dressed in a blue bell-boy cap and a strange blue stewardess outfit that consisted of nothing but blue aside from the yellow and black circles which supposedly acted as buttons for the outfit while boots stretching over her knees gave the feeling that she was a child despite her age, the teenager blinked once while Igor gestured to the girl with golden eyes. "Ah of course, I was so focused on speaking with you that I lacked the decency to mention my assistant over here…please, introduce yourself."

"Elizabeth, it's nice to meet you." The girl called Elizabeth spoke while Yuki nodded unable to tear his eyes away from her before he turned to Igor who gestured with a wave of his hand. "Well, as I was saying before my manners got in the way, I would like to speak to you about the power that was granted to you through the contract. Do you remember?"

"…Yes."

"Then what you should know is that we as residents of the Velvet Room have no control over what decisions and paths that you open or close, or whatever use you have for your potential unless it violates the conditions of the contract. Please remember this." Igor explained before he stretched out his hand and smoothed the tablecloth over revealing a picture on a card, Yuki looking at the depiction of a man carrying a traveler's gear consisting of a stick and cloth wrapped sack of belongings, a small animal behind it while a zero appeared under the picture. "Have you ever considered what the power of your Persona is? Or how it originates and is projected into that world?"

"I haven't thought about it." Yuki replied stoically, Igor shrugging as he continued. "Well then I'll start with what Persona actually is. The power of Persona originates from what is within you, your soul if you would. What it does in the face of hardships, the actions and the attitude by which you tackle life's problems head on or retreat from them are part of the Persona's power and reflection of the soul. You have the Fool, the arcana that speak of a new beginning or a new road…the zero, meaning nothing yet meaning infinite possibilities that you could choose to derive your potential from and create new possibilities, is that understandable now?"

"I understand." Yuki stated as Igor closed his eyes, the eyelids stretching outwards to cover the bulging balls of his eyes. "Perfect, now for our role as the members of the Velvet Room is simply to assist you by means which normal Persona users would not have access to…but that would be explained for another time, for my role will be told to you when the time is right. As of now, understand this: the power of Persona is present in you due to the bonds that you hold with others, and this empowers Personas to unlock new limitless potential within…so nurture and grow these relationships to better yourself and your power. Now, I'm afraid as time moves on in your world and it is best that we speak another time for me to reveal my role to you."

"Hold on to this," Igor said as he waved a hand in the air a small velvet key appearing in the air to descend above Yuki's head the key falling to rest on the palms of his hands, the student staring at the key while Igor continued. "This key would allow you to access this room and it is the means by which we recognize you as an official contractor."

Yuki pocketed the key inside his hospital pants pocket before Igor gave a wave of his hand. "Now I am afraid time runs short, so we will take our leave…know this, the next time that you arrive in this place, it would be of your own free will. Farewell."

* * *

Hospital, April 16th

"Oh, you're awake." Yuki groaned as his eyes opened up to adjust to the change in light intensity, the familiar voice of someone was beside him as he turned to the left seeing pink out the corner of his eye before he blinked the boy trying to sit up. "Yukari…?"

"Relax Makoto-kun, you're in the hospital ward." Yukari said as she took a step closer to his side Yuki's fringe covering a part of his eye while he looked around. "Hospital…" Yukari nodded as she took a seat down at the bedside her hands atop of one another while she cast her eyes down a little at the rails. "Mm, you were knocked out for a week, honestly I was surprised you could even sleep this long and on the third day of school…people are starting up rumors about what happened to the mysterious transfer student from 2-F and the other energetic foreigner from 2-E, you should hear what some of them are proposing as the true cause for both your hospitalizations." Yukari had a wry smile at that one, Yuki staring at her before he shifted in the covers sticking out one of his arms to rest upon the surface of the blanket.

"What do they say?" Yuki asked curious to what imaginative answers the students at Gekkoukan would be spilling as Yukari replied to his answer with a nervous grin. "Mostly about how you guys clashed one night in a fist battle which ended with you two in hospital, only one girl said it was a lover's spat but she was in her own world and also a few others said…uh, that Felice-san was jealous of you, Makoto-kun."

"Jealous?" _Are they kidding me, I go away to the hospital due to a monster attack for a week and people come up with that stuff about me and him…what a lively environment we live in_, Yuki closed his eyes unable to believe what the others were thinking before Yukari continued her expression darkening with every word. "Jealous because we walked to school together and how Felice-san is a hormonal punk who was obsessed with me, so he challenged you to a personal duel which you did out of love…gah, just thinking about it makes my blood boil! Who do they think they are, saying that we are a couple? Jeez!"

_Love triangle? What is this, a soapy drama show? If I find out who's making those rumors in the first place…_

"I see." Yuki replied apathetically while resisting the urge to twitch his brow in response to the ridiculous story, Yuki using his newly found energy to claw the bedsheet within. Yukari huffed as she folded her arms staring away from Yuki as she turned slightly red, "H-Hey you better not get any kind of ideas from that story, it's just wild stupid imagination…imagination! There's no way, absolutely no way that we are a couple!"

_What am I, a sexual deviant?_

Yuki blew a breath over the blanket eventually using his energy to lift himself up from the covers the boy leaning against the wall and the headboard, Yuki breathing a sigh as the memory of that night replayed almost immediately. "By the way, Yukari…"

"Eh? You should be lying down-"

"It's okay, I'm fine. I just wanted to know what that night was all about." Yuki assured as he closed his eyes feeling the laziness prodding him to go to sleep but he resisted the unnecessary urge to just fade off into the distant dream shores while Yukari nodded the girl feeling a little relieved about something when Yuki mentioned that night. "Right, I suppose you would want an explanation too for what you witnessed that night, I did promise you back then that I would tell you when it was over."

"Too?" Yuki questioned as Yukari realized her slip, the girl scratching her head. "Huh, y-yeah…Felice-san was awake before you were when I came by a few days ago and we talked about that night, he seemed like he wanted an explanation for what he saw too. Well, what do you want to know?"

For the next half an hour Yuki asked about the Dark Hour and the Shadows, with Yukari answering each question to the best of her limited knowledge regarding the subject as Yukari had just regurgitated what she was briefed on by both Mitsuru and the Chairman, eventually Yukari finished her explanation and stood at the open window enjoying the breeze which was gently floating inside as there wasn't much wind today Yukari sharing to Yuki that on closer inspection of the footage taken on the rooftop Felice had shown to be able to use a Persona's abilities. By the time she was finished Yuki was already in thought as he mulled over what had been divulged to him, a hand on his mouth.

"I see, so that's what happened. Felice-san is…"

"Mm, I was surprised when Mitsuru-senpai and the Chairman called me in to find out what happened before they showed me the footage of him disappearing into the floor and appearing next to me, Ikutsuki-san was really happy upon seeing that there was one more Persona-user they had missed out. However when I mentioned it to him, Felice-san wasn't happy in the slightest…in fact I think he is rather cautious of us now." Yuki kept silent, the boy couldn't imagine Felice as someone who would pass up a good chance that called for excitement and adventure, at least from his personal meeting with the student. Yukari glanced at Yuki before she let out a suppressed intake of oxygen, the girl looking at Yuki who was in thought about what he was being told.

"Actually I wanted to mention something too besides giving you an explanation for all of that." Yukari immediately felt Yuki's eyes on her while she hesitated momentarily before she continued. "I wanted to let you know that I am in a way similar to you."

"?" _Huh, what's this all about all of a sudden, why is she telling me this? _ Yuki thought as he watched Yukari wring her hands, Yuki having a bad feeling while Yukari continued to talk aware of his change in mood.

Looking at him again to find that Yuki looked at her utterly lost with an expression asking for an explanation, Yukari inhaled worriedly as she wondered how he would take it. "I lost a parent on that day ten years ago, he died in that explosion and so when the Chairman said you were going to be transferred to our dorm he gave us your profile in advance. I read it and knew both your parents died in an accident that day at Moonlight Bridge, to be perfectly honest I was completely guilty about invading your privacy even though it was to understand how you were should you be found with the potential that I spent a sleepless night thinking about it." Yukari admitted truthfully, noticing Yuki's expression darken significantly as Yukari felt horrible inside seeing his visual change like that. "I was guilty, and so I wanted to tell you about it so that you knew something about me than we knowing everything about you.

She looked at Yuki, hearing nothing but absolute silence as Yuki's eyes stayed hidden by the blue fringe that covered his eyes the boy gripping the blanket almost ready to tear it apart before he turned away.

"My parents were a stigma for the duration of my life until middle school," Yuki's voice rebounded around the room softly but his tone was almost uneven, the boy staring at his palm which lay opened on the bed blanket while Yukari watched the feeling of sinking becoming a drowning suffocation. "I spent my early childhood after their death withdrawn to the point that people figured I didn't love my parents enough to care that they had passed on from this earth…depression wasn't even the word to describe me, it was apathy associated with a bitter resentment for my weakened mental fortitude. From that day people didn't see me as the boy who was an orphan and lost his parents to tragedy, they called me the orphan who was uncaring for his parents like I was some horrible kid who wished his parents gone. Is that what you were trying to tell me, that you were going to use my past as an excuse to get me to listen to what your chairman has to say?"

"Makoto-kun that wasn't it, I wanted to clear the air between-"

"If you could have seen me then, I ignored the world as best I could and did my best to fade away from memory of others as quickly as possible…rarely anyone remembered me when I moved on, I had no home…no one to call me 'son'. You lost a parent, you can speak of yourself similar to me, maybe you are but you didn't feel it as much as you claim to have endured."

"Yuki-kun…"

"Tell me what you meant by it then, if you can compare that kind of pain to mine," Yuki hissed out before he calmed down an aching in his throat bringing him pause while Yukari stayed silent her eyes glued to the ground, Yuki released the scrunching grip he had on the sheets while he felt his flash of anger simmering glancing at Yukari who seemed smaller than before he had started to rant Yuki bowed his head as his hands flattened themselves on the sheet an intake sharply heard as both teens fell silent for a moment. "I'm sorry Yukari-san, my parents are a sensitive subject for me…I just snapped out at you without consideration about you feelings. However understand that my past is not something one can just tear out of me and wave it around like a trophy, I already had enough rumors on my back."

"Please Yukari-san, I want to be alone for today. For some reason, I don't really want to see you for now." Yuki spoke coldly while his eyes were lifeless as Yukari took her leave glancing back at Yuki who had resumed sleeping sneaking under the covers, Yukari feeling her mood sour when she closed the door stepping out into the hallway looking down at her watch before she sighed. _So much for telling him the truth, I'm pretty sure the recruitment wouldn't be so easy now._

"I should get back, lunch is almost over…"

"Eh, Yukari-san?" Yukari was about to leave the hospital before a familiar voice speaking gruff Japanese called her over to the other side, Yukari turning around to see Felice in his hospital uniform outside of his hospital ward however he wasn't walking towards her at all Yukari hearing the squeaking of wheels and metal clanking over to her before stopping in front of her, Yukari looking downwards at Felice who was smiling up at her brightly his hand removing itself from the wheel at his side to give a salute. "Yo."

* * *

Hospital courtyard, April 16th

"Wow, what a great day to be outside and enjoy the season!" Felice happily said as he spun around in his wheelchair using his hands to guide the contraption as Yukari released her grip on the wheelchair handles letting the teen roam free in the garden while a few doctors and patients looked at Felice strangely, his joyful attitude an strange reaction to being hospitalized as the various staff and patients did their best to ignore him while he pushed himself over to the small fountain wincing a little as he did so a hand going to his ribs. "Ow…"

"*sigh* Don't strain your ribcage more than necessary, the doctors would want to check if you were going to defy their recommendations any further than them letting you out for a stroll you know." Yukari groaned as she walked up to Felice and held the wheelchair handles behind Felice, the foreign student attempting to speak in protest before Yukari gave him a glare to keep quiet. "You're still injured, let me help you out."

"Ah, thank you." Felice said reluctantly though he tried to be mindful of her kindness towards him, besides it wasn't any other day that a guy like him would receive a visit from the most popular girl in school much less Yukari Takeba, who had taken the time to see him and Yuki including taking him outside on a stroll around the garden. Yukari watched the scenery while Felice decided to dip his hand into the water stirring it up as he smiled at the cold touch of the water lapping up his skin, Felice turning to address Yukari who was busy staring off somewhere at the garden.

"Hey Yukari, wanna stick your hand inside of the water? It's pretty good when you do it now, it's refreshing," Felice spoke avidly as he splashed the water of the fountain enjoying himself immensely. "Hehe, I wonder…"

Yukari in the meantime had gone over what had happened in the hospital ward room, her focus tore away from Felice who was busying himself with the water fountain no doubt clueless to what had occurred as the brown haired girl recalled Yuki's face when she revealed that they had dug up his past and converted it into a folder that was like blackmail to his face. Yukari had expressed sincere doubts when she had read up on his file that he was the victim of rumors and unfounded suspicions, though that wasn't the only reason why she had objected to them surveying his movements inside of the dorm for the last two days, it was the fact that both the chairman and Mitsuru had agreed to it like it was the normal thing to do to a person even if he would join them in the future. Now that she admitted it, seeing his face as she let the truth out of her then was ringing distastefully to her as her mind began to surface with regrets.

_Why did I even tell him about that file? Now he's mad at me for spilling it. That was stupid, why couldn't I just hold onto the lie a lot longer? _Yukari thought as she didn't notice Felice cup an amount of fountain water in his palm while he took careful aim and tossed the sprinkle of water at Yukari's direction the girl snapping out of her thoughts as she let out a squeal turning around to see Felice smiling at her while holding up a wet hand dripping droplets of water his fingers tapping the air.

"Hey Yukari, loosen up a little or you're going to get sour-!" He spoke before Yukari dug her hand deep into the water and slid it across the fountain slapping a wave of water out into the air whipping Felice's face and lap with water staining his uniform, Felice blinking just as the water hit his face and after as he registered the face of Yukari who had followed the slap of water with a growl her expression cloudy with irritation towards the sudden splash of water her hair dripping wet. "W-Well Yukari-san…you're really taking this whole splashing business really seriously you know?"

"*sigh* I was just momentarily angry." Yukari said as she folded her arms the wet sleeve of her cardigan staining her other sleeve in her grip. "Don't worry about it."

"Alright, but do you feel better about it now?" Yukari sighed as she shook her head. "Not really, but thanks."

"Okay, well I shouldn't keep you any longer…" Felice spoke while he pushed his wheelchair forward away from the fountain the teenager however didn't plan to return back to the hospital ward anytime soon instead pushing himself off to another corner of the garden while sticking a hand up in farewell to her. Yukari didn't notice as she walked away from the lively garden of the hospital grounds her mind self-absorbed into many things while she took the long road back to Gekkoukan.

* * *

With Yuki

Pissed was the least description that he could attribute himself with as he laid in bed fuming, his hopes for a rest in his bed for the rest of the day before release today was dashed with the sudden moment of Yukari revealing that she had looked into his past with other strangers who had access to such information. Yuki had been tossing and turning for the past hour wishing he could just disappear into the sheets and get away from what had been said and done, though the royal flush of memories unsettled him all the more he tried to avoid them.

"Damn file…damn Yukari, damn it all." He muttered like a chant as if the words and cursing would make him feel a lot better just thinking about anything aside from it. Yuki turned to stare at the ceiling his simmering anger cooling down slightly while he tried to shift the focus away from the issue at hand, however being shut in proved to be worse for his mind which had nothing to do, instead turning the instance of anger into a large guilt trip for him the longer he laid in bed.

"*sigh* I should apologize to her when I get back to school." He eventually murmured before a knock sounded against the door grabbing his attention to the hallway of his room.

"Makoto-san? I'm coming in," the click of the door echoed softly as a doctor and nurse entered the ward room, Yuki looking at the doctor who noticed he was awake. "Ah good, you're awake. The nurse and I are going to do a final check on you before we can officially release you from our care. You don't mind if you cooperate, do you?"

_Not that I have a choice in the matter._

"Sure."

Less than an hour later, Yuki was released from the hospital and walking out of the main doors his headphones attached to his ears as he drowned out his surroundings with the loud music his azure eyes keeping itself glued ahead, the boy internally deciding not to return to the dorm so quickly as he held out a stack of handouts and class notes with references to textbook pages scribbled helpfully for him. Yuki had to admit, staying up in class to answer questions was a sure fire plan to get you on the teacher's good side as they would be more inclined to guide you toward the path of success, though then again Miss Toriumi wasn't like the other teachers he had in the past who held their own biases towards him in school or overly pitying his loss of his parents to be honest Toriumi treated him like a student rather than letting the words depression and medication get to her head and form ideas about what he was like, that would really have proved to be a rough year had it been so.

Yuki continued to look around Iwatodai as he carried on exploring the roads he had used the last time, the street names evoking a thought that he had been on these roads before in his past like the last visit. Yet none of them provided a hint or even a clue to the previous life that he had in this place before the accident that killed his parents on Moonlight Bridge, even Yuki felt uncomfortable whenever he walked or saw that structure in the distance the damning odor of burning petrol oil and smashed glass appeared in his mind. Shaking his head Yuki took his mind off by sipping the SoBay he bought as a packet of snacks and takoyaki sat in a plastic bag hanging from his left elbow, Yuki appreciating the cool taste of the canned drink in his tongue.

_Damn it, Yukari…why did you even have to just bring that up?_ Yuki thought bitterly as he walked up the stairs to Naganaki shrine, the boy turning to the left towards the bench in the playground to just play the afternoon away with his music track. Yuki suddenly felt a tug on his uniform jacket sleeve, the small force enough to snatch his attention away from his music and follow it instinctively to the source, Yuki facing a little elementary school kid dressed in casual clothes holding a small schoolbag with brown hair tied into two short tails who was tugging at his sleeve eagerly the blue-haired student removing his headphones reluctantly abandoning the music as he looked down at her. "Excuse me, mister."

"Yes?"

"I'm uh…could I, uh…"

*growl* The unnatural noise of a stomach groaning in agony cut all conversation, the young elementary kid beginning to heat up at her face as she bowed her head in both embarrassment and a sign of pleading towards Yuki the smell of takoyaki aroma wafting just out of arm's length from her. Yuki however didn't need further words to convey the message that she was giving with her posture, the blue haired student settling his can on the ground and removed the Styrofoam box from its plastic carrier looking at his takoyaki box which contained six sticks worth of the triple dickered treat grabbing a third and handing it to her.

"Thanks mister!" The small elementary kid immediately brightened up as she began to eat the takoyaki treat as Yuki gave a smile as he walked towards the bench, the boy sitting on the bench as he absent mindedly drank his SoBay, Yuki deciding to not put his headphones back on.

"Hello there," Yuki looked to the side to see a pale man with greying hair and a striped shirt with jeans settling beside him a sketchbook in hand with a stationary set as Yuki shifted to the side.

"Hi." The simple reply was all the young man with greying hair needed to carry on a conversation his eyes seeing the elementary school kid hanging around one of the benches past the playground unable to see them behind the large pole jungle, the man smiling at the girl eating her takoyaki. "I see you met Maiko already, she's very fond of the takoyaki down at Iwatodai station but she never has enough of an allowance to spend it on them. Knowing her she must be playing here to pass as much time as she could until she got hungry."

"You know her?"

"Somewhat, she sometimes spends time with me and watches my drawings while she goes and enjoys herself in the playground. I would too but that wouldn't be looked on in a positive light," the young man said as Yuki nodded, the cases of pedophilia and other predator cases in the towns and cities recently gave another wave of anxiety. Yuki stuck the first stick into his mouth, the student chewing the ball as he felt the smooth texture of the ball sink easily into his teeth Yuki looking sideways at the man before he slid the Styrofoam container over to him. "Want a stick?"

"Ah, I would have to pass on that I'm afraid, much as I want to enjoy it." The man said with a wave of his hand though his expression was wistful. "So what brings you out here to the shrine?"

"To think." Yuki blurted out the words to the man in quick response the student not aware until he saw the young man close his eyes, seeing his smile somehow was a bit of a reassurance to the blue-haired boy as the young man with greying hair nodded in understanding, the man looking out at the grounds of the shrine. "Yes, I do that sometimes…you could say this place is a bit of a thinking ground for me as well. I'm Akinari."

"Yuki," Yuki said as he introduced himself to Akinari, the young man nodding in affirmation. "Hm, that's a rather unique name to give to a boy…"

"Tell me about it, I had girls in middle school wanting me to play dress-up due to my hair." Yuki shivered as Akinari laughed softly the young man breaking into a coughing fit as he shook his head. "Is that so? The girls at your school must have been an interesting bunch," Akinari replied amused, Yuki could tell that Akinari was using the words to downplay the impact as a certain memory of a certain contest appeared in his head.

"…" Yuki kept quiet as he saw Akinari open up his sketchbook, taking out a pencil which began to start on a series of lines on the book. "What are you drawing?"

"Hmm? Oh, I was just sketching something for a project I was working on…it's not even started upon yet but I have a good feeling I could get the idea soon in my head, that is the wish." Akinari noticed the boy's interest as he flipped another page back before handing the sketchbook to Yuki. "Now that I mention it, would you like to take a look at some of these sketches?"

For the rest of the afternoon, Yuki spent the time talking with the pale young man with the girl Maiko finally noticing the two after she had gone to dispose of her takoyaki and dragged Yuki and Akinari to the playground where they watched her energetically enjoy herself with the two of them to help her out. Before Yuki knew it the afternoon had gone by and evening was coming around the corner, the three of them standing at the bottom of the shrine steps as Maiko waved goodbye running into the distance while Akinari warned her to watch oncoming traffic, the man's posture relaxed as ever.

"Well, I need to leave…thanks for staying and playing with Maiko, I couldn't keep up even if I wanted to," Akinari thanked Yuki as he decided to take his leave walking off towards where Maiko had ran off to the young man paused and looked at Yuki. "I'm available on Sundays as my usual schedule, as this was my day off today…if you happen to be by the shrine at that day look me up for a chat," Yuki nodded in reply as Akinari held the sketchbook in his hand waving it in farewell to Yuki before he walked off down the road disappearing from sight, Yuki seeing the man off and turned around.

_**I am thou, and thou art I…**_

"!?"

_**You have our blessings whenever you summon Personas of the Hanged Man and the Sun Arcana…**_

Yuki stood still even as the words stilled and faded away from view, the blue-haired teen blinking as he tried to register what had happened before a familiar face came to his mind the words coming to him while he turned to see the empty street where the two once were. "The power of relationship…huh," Yuki mused continuing his journey back towards the dorm as the events at the hospital came to mind, he needed to have a talk with someone.

* * *

Iwatodai dorm

"Welcome back." Mitsuru greeted the new member of the dorm who closed the door silently behind him as blue hair swished in the air, Yuki staring hard at the redhead who began to sense a discomforting feeling as she placed the book she was reading down on her lap. "Is there something wrong, Makoto?"

"My past, how did you get it?" Yuki spoke with an edge of steel thin as a wire into his words, the redhead immediately caught onto what he was talking about as she stiffed crossing her legs over the other while she connected the dots in her head before she replied, recalling Yukari's behavior for the past week and her objections to their monitoring of him days ago coming to mind. "I guess from your reaction that you were speaking with Takeba today, considering how she's been visiting you for the past week since you were asleep."

"Where did you get that folder?" Yuki demanded as his hands usually jammed tightly to his pockets like glue removed themselves the boy opting to stand a distance as he looked right into Mitsuru's eyes a flash of contempt on his expression while the music in his headphones beat softly in the background pulsing through the tense atmosphere. Mitsuru eventually moved, her hands crossing over each other as she thought of what to say to the obviously pissed off Yuki Makoto in front of her gazing like the world was going to burn because of her. "Makoto, we needed your file as we were still unsure of your past. The fact was that we had to determine whether you could function during that Hour, and knowing your past and a connection to the accident that killed your parents stacked up the facts that you could want answers as well as potential due to the accident that night ten years ago."

"So you could use that information to convince me to join?" Yuki demanded as Mitsuru shook her head, the girl could sense years of buried hate and resentment coming from his blue eyes which was very luminescent under the light while he balled a fist. "Was that it, were you using my parents as an excuse to get me to join your little group if I refused your offer or if I resisted?"

"That isn't it, Makoto." She firmly stated as Yuki released his tight grip of his left fist. "Then do clarify for me what you were thinking when you dug up my past. Was it something in there that you wanted to know, to use or since you so deny that what was important that prompted you to do so?"

"It isn't that easy, Makoto." Mitsuru's hands gripped her elbows, the girl standing firm despite the slight change in body language as she kept her eyes focused on Yuki. "Makoto, you like Yukari were at the explosion around ten years ago and Takeba awakened to her potential years later…I thought that it was best to get you back to Iwatodai because of that incident, that perhaps you may find the answers that were on your mind. The chairman was the one who recommended you after he found you, and it was due to that reason I wanted to have you with us…some of us carry a burden which is lengthy and difficult not out of obligation but choice." Mitsuru explained while Yuki felt his anger simmer again, the boy looking away from Mitsuru his eyes refusing to look at her as he turned around and walked away instead.

"Makoto-san, I'm sorry. You understand that you too wanted some answers, I was counting on that to overwrite the decision for your folder to be made public to us." She apologized as he stopped Yuki turning his head slightly as the fringe covered his left eye looking straight at her, Mitsuru finding no words to say as Yuki resumed walking to his room the footsteps echoing into the distance leaving the heiress alone in the living room, Mitsuru's arms resting on the armchair as she exhaled a shaky breath held from the confrontation.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

Hospital ward, night time

"…" Felice quietly looked around the place as he snuck out of the hospital door, the teen looking at his watch which was reading near midnight while he gripped his wheelchair the boy counting down the seconds remaining in his head while he heard the quiet shuffling of the nurses out for their daily rounds.

4…3…2…1

Just as he did so, the familiar wave of nausea and misplacement of his body occurred as the Dark Hour came into being the sickly green air and lights overshadowed the walls of the hospital ward, Felice retreating back as he grabbed the door handle and opened the entrance to his room. He poked his head into the hallway noting two coffins near the patient rooms, the teen grunted while he spun the rims of his wheels guiding the rest of his body out into the open space of the hallway.

_Hmm, everyone's asleep like normal. I know I shouldn't patrol around the hospital like this…but I can't help but feel something's wrong here_, Felice traversed the hallway in the hospital the emptiness sinking in as he noted the elevators in the lobby was out of service preventing him from leaving this floor the teen looking around helplessly. _Great of all the floors they could pick for me, they went along with above ground…I honestly would call it a miracle if I live through the Dark Hour alive after all._

"Hmm, well I guess this means I can't go anywhere else right? But I don't feel like sleeping here either…"

"-_-." A childlike voice greeted Felice who turned his head to the right, the teen staring off into the dark hallway where a coffin stood uprooted near the door said entry point halfway open and standing next to the tall unsettling symbol…was a child aged twelve in a dark red coat with golden eyes and a black baseball cap covering his vermillion red hair looking at him with a malicious stare as the child pointed his finger towards Felice who felt his mind freeze in its tracks, the teen hearing the child address him with the most unsettling chuckle he had ever heard in his life.

"-_y_-" the child giggled as Felice felt fear striking his heart the teenager looking creeped out while the child continued to stroke the surface of the coffin with one hand, the child tilting its head at him in mock curiosity.

"The hell are you..."

"-_? -_?" The child laughed as Felice gripped his wheelchair unsure of what to make of the child, the little boy smiling before the child-like appearance began to distort, almost like a droplet hitting the surface of a water, the image revealing an ivory mask with a crown of sharp thorns on its head staring back at Felice earning a gasp of shock from the teen. Felice backed up with his wheelchair almost hitting the wall as a growing mass of hands spread out from the child stepping towards Felice who immediately brought Leto to his side, watching a dark figure rise from the mass of black while the hands retreated to reveal a dark cloudy outline with bared fangs. Smiling the child raised his fingers as a fennel came to his hand, the hound-like being crouching into a pounce before the child sneered the flower rising up in the air, it's visual appearance showing ripples and cracks along the pale white skin of the child while its golden eyes gleamed.

"What the hell?" Felice could only utter when it finally opened its mouth the child beginning to twitch its neck around in short spasms.

"GGGRRRKKKAKKKAKKAKKAKAK!"

End


	8. Awaken, Membership

Persona: Tiwaz

Yo, what up. I changed the name because Festivities after six long chapters and actually a period of deep thinking between drinking water and eating dinner did I actually think, my goodness FEStivities was not a good name. I needed to rename it and actually put a real summary of the story, which I did.

To be honest lately I have been getting a bit of writer's block, though it hasn't stopped the ideas flowing but disappearing as fast as it got there. But all complaints aside it is great to have you browse this fic I did out of boredom.

So yeah, I created tension between the two because Yukari in game does tell you that she read up on the protagonist's past which stunned me as you didn't have an option to say 'what?' or anything, instead you sat there and just went, 'oh you were going to look into my past where my parents died in front of me possibly creating some form of mental trauma even if I do grab a hold of my life ten years later? Cool.' The thing was I didn't want it to just end like that…perhaps Atlus had an idea when they wanted Arisato to be this blank slate who is apathetic to the point of nihilism and just seeming to only give few moments of care or concern.

If anything else, I hope the events that follow aren't too fast a pace which you guys can handle. I will be skipping several times through this story due to time constraints with short sections dedicated to the social links as best as I can.

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona, Atlus does…I need my hours back.

* * *

Night time, 16th April

"Hey Mitsuru," Akihiko called out to the Kirijo heiress, entering the main meeting room on the fourth level while Mitsuru was tuning up a piece of equipment the girl wiping her forehead with the back of her palm lowering a screwdriver on the table while she looked to see Akihiko walking through the door closing it behind him as the silent humming of the control panel was the only sound in the room.

"Hey, it's nearly midnight…you really should get some rest." The senior advised Mitsuru as she rubbed her tired eyes, the girl suppressing a yawn as she covered her mouth. "I just need to make some adjustments to the sensory equipment before I can take a break."

"Mitsuru-" Akihiko protested strongly but Mitsuru interrupted, her voice still sharp even when she was feeling worn out by the day's events, her eyes flashing with stubborn will. "I'm fine, Akihiko…I took a four hour rest in the evening, I can stay up a little longer."

"No, you're not alright and you know it even with the sleep you've got," Akihiko retorted as he looked at the bags underneath her eyes Mitsuru tuning him out while she adjusted some of the dials, checking the sensor readings on the screen while she did so. Akihiko knew her well enough to know she was just going to tune him out until he left or kept quiet, the boy sitting opposite her tossing his jacket on the couch while he folded his arms watching her work in the comforting silence of the room before Mitsuru looked up from her work and back at Akihiko who was sternly standing his ground. "I told you I'm fine."

"Like hell, you're not even holding the screwdriver in your hand," he gestured to Mitsuru who looked down to see her hand turning in the air while the screwdriver sat on the table, Mitsuru eventually giving up on the farce. "I…"

"Let me get you some MadBull, it should help you keep awake for another hour or two." Akihiko rose from his seat leaving the room to the vending machine on the second floor, the boy inserting the familiar 120 yen payment and made his selection at the button hearing the thunk of the can hitting the bay, grabbing the can and walked back into the room where Mitsuru had laid back in the armchair her eyes closed while she took a breather muttering a 'thanks' as Akihiko tossed the can into her open palms, the redhead opening the can to drink the contents.

"So what is happening that's got you so glum?" Mitsuru hesitated at his question before she placed the can of MadBull back on the table, her fingers clasped against one another while she held the can between her palms the girl recalling Makoto's face before he left, guilt once again unveiling itself on her face and tense shoulders the silence of the room becoming an uncomfortable trap, like the walls would collide on her when she says what is on her mind. Mitsuru held in air, and exhaled softly downing another gulp of MadBull down her throat as if to wash her mouth of certain things, "Makoto knows about the folder regarding his profile."

Akihiko rose his eyebrows but didn't say anything, his silence acting as the sign of patience to listen to her while Mitsuru gripped her left elbow her hair shielding one of her eyes behind the veil of hair, "Takeba talked to him today and let slip that we were taking ownership of his folder, he was upset and confronted me about it before he stormed off but not before I let him know that it was a chance for him to earn those answers ten years ago."

"You mean the accident that killed his parents at the same time that happened, right?"

"Yes, that's right." Mitsuru held a thin frown while Akihiko shifted in his seat. "So what will you do now? Will he even be motivated to join us in spite of what has happened?"

"I don't know, the chairman would be able to arrive tomorrow and I was thinking of pushing the question towards him then," Mitsuru admitted while Akihiko nodded, the boy about to reply before a sound emitted from the sensor, Mitsuru immediately stood up and looked at the screen for a moment the movement of the needles became more stable as she breathed out a sigh of relief thankful at the results before she noticed Akihiko staring at the contraption, Mitsuru gesturing to the sensor. "Well this sensor was emitting a few false signals due to something with the tuning so I had to do some refining of the tunings and actually reset the system to get it working right, I figured that upon finding some of our equipment damaged in the Shadow attack we needed to check all our sensors in case any of them may have been in disrepair for two months."

"Right, technical issues and all that messing up the signals…I get you," Akihiko muttered almost feeling disappointed while he stared at his injured arm as Mitsuru glanced at him suspiciously raising the can of MadBull and drank it. "Akihiko, were you hoping to find some fights on the first step to recovery…or were you hoping for another broken arm?"

"Huh? Well…uh, kinda." Akihiko said the last word more to himself but it seemed that the heiress had a sharper sense of hearing, the girl giving him the most malicious grin while the can of Madbull was crushed slightly in her iron grip.

"Is that right Akihiko, you were thinking about something like that? But the recovery process is quite long for your arm, I wonder how much longer for a broken rib or two." Mitsuru calmly suggested the girl let the word sink into his mind before Akihiko flinched back from her in horror the teenager retracting what he had just said with a small wince and frightened gaze to the ground the white-haired teen ruffling his short hair while he protested, "Well, uh…no, I'm glad that I don't have to fight any Shadows! Recovery is good, in fact healthy even!"

"Good, remember that…or you'll know what happens next." Mitsuru's expression lightened but ever so slightly still granting Akihiko with the chills and a thought in his head chiming like an alarm to get out of the room and toss aside his composure but Akihiko swallowed, the gulp of saliva and air stuck in his throat like a vice grip causing Akihiko to make a nervous cough easing the tension all by himself while the cold air lifted overhead, nodding while he did so. Only then did Mitsuru retract the looming end that would have come had Akihiko been a man with less tact or sense in his head, the white-haired teen massaging his dry throat.

"Akihiko…I wanted to ask you something," Mitsuru asked solemnly as she stared at her canned drink, swirling the remaining liquid inside while she glanced at Akihiko. "What is it?"

"Do you think it was too much, taking his folder and reading it for ourselves?"

"You mean the confrontation you were talking about with Makoto right? To be honest, I don't know what the best approach is…it's hard to understand what people in his past thought about him when he was growing up. A folder like that could mean a lot to a guy like him," Akihiko shrugged. He was just as stumped as Mitsuru was and it was the first time he had even heard of a disagreement between a complete stranger and his friend, Akihiko couldn't even tell what Makoto was like at all since he met him while he was unconscious. Mitsuru caught on as she sighed, placing the can on the table while she set the scanner aside for the night, her fingers digging slightly into the fabric of her sleeve uncrossing her legs. "I see, I just wanted to know what I can do for something like this. I didn't anticipate him reacting this strongly to such a move."

"Well he's still here most likely for answers, isn't he? If that is the case well…I can't think of anything else."

"Actually I just remembered that I had to go and get a drink before sleeping…but hey, sleep on it tonight, besides I feel that you'll think of something." He quickly made his way out of the meeting room, the teen pausing at the doorway when he saw Mitsuru still watching him. "Oh, and uh, make sure you get some real rest," the teenager advised lamely as he closed the door behind him the teen breaking into a brisk walk down to the vending machine so he could grab his drink and leave immediately for his room.

With Makoto

**It was a nice windy day, the afternoon sun had faded away in the distance as Yuki lifted himself from his crouching position seeing the small caterpillar on the leaf in the bushes crawl slowly away from its curious observer, Yuki turning around to explore the area. However as soon as Yuki did so the scenery flickered into nothing as another backdrop this time of a night lit park replaced his vision, Yuki looking left and right.**

"**Yuki, where are you? Come on, we have to go home." **

"**?!" Yuki felt recognition from his instincts from the voice he could recognize as female, the possibilities racing. Yuki felt a shiver as he began to step forward making out the voice's echo in the dark night sky, Yuki's mind racing while he tried to distinguish the voice calling to him as he pushed his way through the bushes-**

"Hello," the voice of a child cut him off from his mysterious dream, Yuki waking up as his mind's eyes began to retreat from the dream world while an invisible curtain of black over his closed eyes broke free to reveal the dark green ceiling his weary mind stirred by the mysterious voice Yuki tracking the source to see the flutter of a pair of long black and white striped sleeves at the feet of the bed, and blue eyes staring ahead at him. "Having a good dream?"

"…How did you get in?"

"Is that anyway to address a visitor?" The boy innocently said as Yuki felt a tinge of annoyance. "Yes, as a person who has intruded into my space."

"Fine, fine…" the child replied his expression saddened by the bluntness of Yuki momentarily before he spoke again his eyes regaining their former twinkle. "Well in any other case, I wanted to visit you tonight to pass on a message for you specifically…take it as a warning if you will," the child rephrased while Yuki groggily nodded for him to continue.

"I wanted to tell you that in the coming days a great trial will await you, and you must be prepared to face it with your power…hehe, I wonder how your journey will play out." The child laughed cheekily as he reappeared at the feet of the bed staring directly at Yuki while he placed a hand on the railing. "Well, this is my cue to leave, but we'll see each other again. I will be watching you very closely for what will come next, Yuki Makoto…" the child uttered with a playful grin as he disappeared again from his stance near the feet of the bed, this time for good when a full minute passed as Yuki sleepily acknowledged the missing presence, the boy closed his eyes and without further thought on what had happened proceeded to sleep.

* * *

Hospital

"What the hell?"

The three words escaped his mouth as the child's image flickered in the darkness of the hallway, the coat ends flapping as the Garu skill ended unfazed by the display of power while Felice gripped the armrests of his chair, feeling very discomforted by the presence which was tormenting him. The child-no, the Shadow in front of him was still smiling as the fennel disappeared from its hand placing both hands behind its back rocking on its heels giggling inhumanely at its prey, the wolves surrounding its sides each were terrifying with the blood drops and their look of thirst staring right at him. Terrified, Felice found his eyes looking at Leto with worry before he noticed the child seemingly waited for him to make the first move.

"Bufu!"

The sound of shattering ice could be heard as the image of the child laughed creepily stumbling from the blow before it continued to send hands shooting towards Felice as Leto repelled the attacks with Garu, the shadowy limbs being repelled as Felice nearly cursed the teen unable to maneuver himself around the hallway gripping the wheels of his chair tightly while he tried to bring down his late night attacker.

"HEHHHAHAHEHEHGKGKAOKO!" The Shadow cackled at the unsuccessful attempt to hit it while Leto set up the defensive wall repulsing the attacks at the creature only to pass through the child's image, the ivory mask flickering into view as Felice sent out a Garu immediately the wind blasting the mask backwards onto the floor the creature screaming in anger before it rose back up the child taking form as a sneer formed on its face, the child sending out a Torrent shot at Leto who was blasted back by the razor sharp attacks the woman stumbling backwards while she tried to recover the Shadow readying itself as the canine creature came forth snarling blood trails at Felice before it ran towards them, huffing and barking.

"Damnit, I'm trapped here…Leto is weak against physicals. That means I can try one last tactic." Felice murmured as he looked at Leto the Persona needing no words as it cast a dark circle in front of it, Felice stretching his palms out. "Fine, taste this then...Mudo, boost up!"

The Shadow's extension let out a cry of pain before the Mudo completed its invocation, a burst of purple flame consuming the creature as it faded out of existence, the Shadow child growling angrily as it summoned another one the creature pouncing against Leto it's jaws opened wide to tear out the Persona's throat, Felice already preparing another move. "Manía (Fury)," the moment the words left his mouth Leto had already caused the canine Shadow to heel the creature's golden irises becoming corrupt with red veins immediately changing course to bite its former master as the child mercilessly stabbed the hound-like cloudy being with a burst of shots lacerating the hound as it fell to the ground squirming before the child crushed it with its feet the image dissipating to reveal a clawed hand ripping into the hound before being cloaked by the image of the child-like hand.

"_-,_!" The Shadow's incomprehensible growl was starting to make Felice get annoyed, the teenager shaking his head as he moved Leto to his side. "I don't know how you got here or what your malfunction is to be unable to speak your mind properly, but this time it's over for you. Just give up right now."

"…" The child paused as it looked at Felice dead in the eyes, the teen freezing up as the child gave an upward smirk. "_-find_," the child replied as Felice paused his grip loosening from the armrest while he glared at the Shadow, the word sticking in his mind as Leto stirred restlessly in front of Felice. "What the…" He was almost ready to say something before the Shadow child huffed instead, smirking as the Shadow began to sink into the ground avoiding combat as three of the same fuzzy cloudy canine Shadows appeared small droplets of blood splattering onto the ground as the trio wolfpack growled menacingly their panting ragged while Felice moved a little forward, Leto ready to defend him if need be from the attackers.

"That damn shadow, guising as a kid, trying to mess up my mind with a child as its cloak…someone's going to pay for this, might as well start with you lap dogs." Felice faced off against the canines which began to howl before they charged at him, Felice shaking his head as Leto immediately went to defence. "Like hell you're going to stop me from going after that thing!"

Leto reacted quickly, the Persona scaring the creatures off with a Garu the force of wind scattering papers and items all around the hallway as the Shadows kept their distance, Leto immediately freezing one in a Bufu block and let the Garu push the Shadow iceblock aside skidding on the floor before it burst into a torrent of shards scaring the canines back before the other two howled, Leto using Toíchos (Wall) to block the oncoming duo of bared fangs and paws let out a series of fast cuts sending shots of lacerations at him which he shielded with his arms his limbs showing a multitude of cuts and rivers of blood trickling down.

"Rrggh…" Felice growled his eyes looking at the two canine Shadows before he gripped the rims of his wheelchair. "Get out of my sight, Leto!" He commanded as the Persona used Garu the creatures sliding a distance as Leto prepared to use Bufu to continue the assault, however for whatever reason behind it the anticipated attack didn't occur for the canine Shadows suddenly stopped, their dark red eyes staring at the ceiling before both remaining creatures howled loudly, Felice watching on as they disappeared from sight leaving Felice alone with Leto standing still as soon as the danger had passed over the hallway becoming eerily silent the muddy blonde suddenly feeling his body grow heavy, the blonde nearly passing out from the sudden force. _Damnit, just like back with that knight…I'm almost running dry on energy, but Leto isn't seeing anything suspicious already._

"H_heheheh-_" The inaudible growl followed by the image of the child appeared from the shadow of the corridor in front of him, the mirage wavering in image as the red eyes glared menacingly at him. Pointing at him, the child growled inaudibly as the darkness revealed three wolves crawling around the Shadow just as the mask and crown of thorns appeared briefly replacing the child's face, the sight sending a chill down his back while he grinded his teeth. "…ghk."

"_-!-_?" The child's expression of malice turned softer, the Shadow staring at him tensely before the wolves whimpered and retreated into the darkness the child in the red coat stretching out its hand. Felice brought Leto to the front about to release a Toíchos however that idea was soon discarded when he felt the ground below him shake, Felice unable to react in time just as the child enclosed its fist vines with thorns appearing upwards to snake around his arms like serpents lashing at their prey the teen barely able to fight before the vines dug into his skin creating lacerations skin deep.

"ARRGGHHH, damn you!" Felice spat as the Shadow child sneered, the thorny stalks of green moving slightly cutting deeper as Felice spied the thorns growing in length as they dug into the skin of his arms the blood loss' effects affecting his hands once struggling actively against its plant captors to slowly die in strength, Felice unable to concentrate as Leto disappeared the moment he was trapped. As he hung helplessly, Felice struggled with his neck the tips of the thorns barely scraping the skin of his neck, the teen growling angrily however it was muted by the gurgling as blood ran down his face and neck.

_No good, if I don't do anything soon…_ Felice summoned Leto again from the back of his mind only for the Shadow to immediately send out four wolves from both behind and in front of Leto eager and thirsting for blood as they dug into the Persona who was unable to hold off the simultaneous attack from the back and front, the flank throwing Leto away causing Felice to worry. _No…crap! There must be something, anything!_

"You damn….ggrkk!" Felice felt the thorns pierce his neck and legs, the brushing of the vines becoming closer as the hairs on his leg began to feel something itchy and sharp penetrate his skin Felice choking for air. It was a very bad situation now, if he wasn't fast enough to summon Leto there would be no doubt he will be killed…but even as he did so now, he couldn't be certain Leto can provide a distraction before the wolves around him rip the Persona to shreds preventing a chance to turn the tide.

Once again, like the night with the knight he was trapped without a way out. Knowing that was infuriating as Felice thrashed through the vines ignoring the additional scarring on his arms. This was the third time he was being defeated by something more dangerous than he was, and Felice couldn't fight back even with a Persona to stand at his back protecting him.

_There must be a way to do this...I can't..._

_**Thou art I…**_

_?!_

_**Say my name, quickly if you desire to stand…**_the voice seemed more insistent as the vines were moving faster across his neck drawing a red line which soon deepened as the Shadow grinned, the child's head tilting to the side at the teen's suffering before the vines stopped just short of slicing the throat of Felice cleanly chuckling at the helplessness of its victim who had stopped his futile struggle against the vines. "_-_!"

"I will not…lose…" Felice demanded as he felt the familiar resurgence of power course through his hands, the teen feeling his instincts grow sharper while the child immediately clenched his fist the vines slicing away at Felice's neck as blood was sent flying through the air in droplets the wound causing trails as it dug deeper into his skin causing Felice to give into pain and his struggle when he heard the sound of ripping flesh. There was no way out, but even so he had to keep fighting back no matter the cost and turn this battle around.

"Gah…!" The boy yelled as he stretched his hand out another row of lacerations and blood loss occurred the boy insistent on closing his fist as the power within demanded release, however a thorn covered vine covered his eyes ready to dig into the crevices of his sockets threatening him with blindness. _No, this can't be it…I won't lose to a monster like this! Come to me, damn it!_

*chunk*

Felice stopped as an unusual sound was heard his blinded vision by the captive vine retreating from his sight as he felt the vines disappear his eyes still shut from the prickly brush of the thorns which had left. There was a moment of pause, Felice's eyes closed as he slowly opened them with a small crack when he heard a sound of something thumping on the ground, his eyes opening to see the vines that held him captive in the air had fallen to the hospital floor the child Shadow nearly bursting in fury as it let out a child-like scream of frustration at the turn of events stomping its feet on the floor.

"AARRRRGHHHRRKRKKKKKKK!"

"…" Felice watched in silence unable to speak while the uncomfortable feeling in his throat from the cut prevented him from speech as the Shadow retreated hurriedly from the scene the shadows of the hallway overtaking the child's body, the red eyes being the only sign it had been there just as it vanished Felice feeling weakened as he leaned in his wheelchair his arms going weak from the battle as the exhaustion of his stamina from using Leto took a toll on him his alertness full of adrenaline suddenly hit by a feeling of sleepiness, Felice groaning while he tried to stay awake unsure of what was going on or if the child had completely disappeared before he noticed a figure standing behind him, the teen nearly falling from his chair as he stared mouth agape. "What the…?"

Towering over him stood a man with a shining white helmet with a faceplate up to the bridge of his nose, the white light almost similar to that of a burning flame as a set of forest green bronze scales with bright quilted leather beneath alongside pants and fur boots completed the outlook of the warrior, the Persona looking downward at Felice as sea-blue eyes met the teen a hand from the Persona stretched out to cusp the air before the palm shifted to the chest over its heart.

_**You have called on me for might and strength, I am Tiwaz the god of the hanged…at your call I am at your side, to defend you with my blade and my hand,**_ the Persona disappeared into nothing as Felice felt tired his slightly dulled mind calling him to look around the hallway.

"Is it over…or could this mean that that kid had escaped from me?" Felice wondered as he kept Leto on guard the woman focusing on the area to find no more Shadows lurking around the grounds, Felice left utterly confused by the sudden events which had taken place while he tried to control his ragged breathing. "Well if that kid is gone, then that means that the place should be considered safe for now from Shadows…if that was even considered a child," Felice uttered as he shivered at the recollection of the distortion which revealed a human head wearing a familiar mask with a crown of thorns sticking out of the small head, the image burning into his memory while he nearly felt like he was going to puke. The thoughts left him as his injuries inflicted by the Shadow began to take away his stamina as the blood from his lacerations had droplets onto the ground, the teen breathing ragged breaths as air left his throat, the suffocating air of the Dark Hour becoming a strain to stay conscious in. Felice didn't have time to react or think any further before the lights came back on flickering as if a power outage had occurred, the Dark Hour retreating from the human world as his stamina faded followed by his conscious thoughts as the blood loss took its toll upon him, sending him toppling to the side blood pooling in small smear marks on the floor some of his wounds' blood hardening onto his skin.

The last thing he saw besides the flickering lights was a scream that echoed far away that he couldn't reply as a shadow rushed over him.

17th April, morning, Gekkoukan High

Yuki scribbled the notes for the lecture while the teacher continued to ramble on, aware of the growing state of sleepiness which had befallen some of the students who were absolutely bored to death, Yuki turning another page of the textbook to read the material that was mentioned at the start of the class himself simultaneously struggling to write out a sentence as the teacher continued to rant in the background. Next to him, Junpei wasn't doing so well the boy with the baseball cap had lowered the tip over his eyes to cover it up though his arms draped over the table's surface in an obvious manner with his pen rolling on the floor didn't help matters for Junpei if he got caught sleeping on a lecture, Yuki looking at the podium again so as to not gain the teacher's attention on him and then on Junpei's sleeping form. _The things I do for a guy I just met…I wonder if I'm just being too nice on people sometimes or if I am just over-considerate to let something like this go on._

"Makoto, stand up I have a question for you to answer."

_Well luck is just trying to tell me something huh?_

Lunchtime

Yuki pushed open the door to the school rooftop, finding only two small huddles in the corner next to the entrance as he walked towards one of the ten benches spread out across a simplistic garden of flowers in concrete troughs filled with soil Yuki settling his butt down on the wooden seat while he took off the cover for his bento and picked up the pair of steel chopsticks in hand his eyes exploring the large box he bought from the nearby store before school, his stomach enticing his instincts to devour the meal filled with fried prawn and steaming hot rice with salmon pieces dressed in soy sauce as well as carrots and radish slices in a rapid gulp. _No delaying I suppose, _Yuki used the chopsticks to gather a small patch of rice the sauce dripping back onto the rice pile while he ate the first bite his stoic expression relaxing into a satisfied twitch at the curves of his lips though his blank eyes kept their usual glower.

_This is really great with the salmon and radish, I should remember the name of that takeaway place sometime so I can buy something else, _Yuki silently ate with joy his outward appearance remaining unchanged though anyone who could have seen him from afar could tell that there was a brief moment of joy in mid-eating. Yuki was absorbed into it that he didn't notice someone coming up behind him and tapping him on the shoulder which nearly caused him to drop the chopsticks in surprise as his body jerked slightly from the touch the bluenette looking up to his left to see a familiar face before he resumed picking up his chopsticks and stuck one of the prawns into his mouth the boy chewing slowly.

"Mitsuru-san." He immediately changed his tone upon addressing her, the half-eaten fried prawn plucked from his teeth as he placed it properly on the rice while he stuffed another serving of rice. "How may I help you?"

"Makoto…I need to talk to you."

"Sure." _Though I can already guess what this is all about._

"Makoto, I wanted to speak to you about what you would decide to do from here on out."

"…" _You mean if I am going to lure your desire for answers into joining your little group._ "And why are you taking some time from your lunch to tell me this?"

"You would want to know why your parents died ten years ago." Yuki exhaled, he was already anticipating that answer which would be the foundation to convincing him to join up due to his confrontation with the Kirijo heiress, Yuki sighing as he bit into the prawn and salmon. "So you came to me and tried to pull that out of the rug, Mitsuru-san…tell me what is that going to accomplish if you knew why I came back home?"

"Because I shouldn't have done it," Mitsuru admitted as she watched Yuki's unchanging expression unfazed by her admission. "I and the Chairman thought that you should be given a chance to go and find out what's behind your parents' deaths but I didn't consider what that folder might mean to you in the first place."

"…"

"I wanted to apologize." Mitsuru said as she looked out at the large expanse of the city from the school rooftop the afternoon sun clouded by the mass of grey clouds while Yuki looked up at her. "I wasn't planning to go anytime soon until I had some answers for myself. However you are too paranoid and quick to judge my actions and personality," Yuki bluntly stated as Mitsuru turned to see Yuki grabbing his bento and resuming the meal signalling that the conversation would go no further than it did now.

"I see, well then I have something else to tell you as well…the chairman and I would like to see you and Takeba as soon as possible after school, he'll come in the evening at around eight so just be punctual." Mitsuru passed the message on as she watched Yuki nod once in her direction before she stepped away from the boy and re-entered the building, breathing slightly in relief as she went over the conversation in her head. _Looks like he was okay with it, I hope that the same could be said for what will be said tonight. _Meanwhile, Yuki was finishing half of his meal at a faster pace, the boy trying to get his mind off the conversation and his mind's wild theories about her purpose for coming at such convenient timing, Yuki attempting to focus on finishing his meal contently.

_I won't be surprised if this is a last ditch effort from her to convince me to just join whatever plan she has for me and Yukari, even though Yukari says that she knows things she didn't sound too sure about everything when I began to ask her to elaborate, _Yuki emptied the remaining salmon pieces mixing them in the soy sauce radish combination stirring it with his chopsticks while he slipped another salmon slice into his mouth. Finishing off the meal, he placed the cover over the box while he placed it inside of his plastic bag the boy standing up and returning downstairs.

"I should see what clubs are open for signups soon." _That connection was what Igor was talking about, wasn't it?_

* * *

With Felice, hospital

"What do you mean I can't go outside right now?" Felice asked the nurse who was placing her pen on the table while sighing, her eyes avoiding contact with Felice as she scanned some patient reports. "You can't simply go outside right now, besides the doctor wanted to check up on you today regarding your…circumstance last night."

"You mean the whole scarring on my arms right? I told the nurse and doctor on duty last night I was fine already, besides I suffered from a bad fall that happened to have a knife involved," he stated as he noticed the nurse shaking her head while she politely replied to him. "No, I'm afraid you cannot be out at the moment until the doctor comes over but you can still receive your visitors. Besides, that girl might come over right? Yukari, I think her name was….you should be happy such a caring girl is taking care of you." The nurse gave him a sly wink as he caught on quickly, the man cracking a smile at the young nurse.

"Aha…" Felice laughed nervously as he recalled the water whipping she gave him yesterday while he looked at his bandaged arms. The nurse satisfied with her check over his new wounds walked out for a moment before she came back in, the woman's professionalism taking over as she entered his ward. "Oh, Felice-san, there's a woman waiting for you outside planning to visit you right now."

"Already, but who is it?" Felice made his thoughts known as he raised a brow his bandaged arms and the slight numbness preventing him from moving the two limbs before a voice familiar to him spoke from behind the nurse which was soon accompanied by the flash of platinum blonde and blue eyes dressed in an elegantly styled form fitting velvet pea coat alongside black stockings the hemline of a skirt barely seen through the long coat, the eyes momentarily stunning Felice though the silver blonde hair gave her identity away rather quickly.

"Felice, it's me. We need to talk."

"Margaret?"

"I'll leave you two alone then," the nurse said as she gave him a smile. "Get better soon and make sure to contact us if you need anything right?" The woman spoke as she made her way out of the ward leaving the young woman and Felice alone in the room, Margaret waiting until the door was closed before she sighed, her velvet eyes vanishing almost like a fog of color lifted over her eyes turning into a golden shade again her eyes lingered on the doorway a little more while she addressed Felice with a nod of her head the woman occupying the seat on his left overlooking the corridor. It was the first time that he noticed she wasn't carrying her book and the fact that her clothes were different from what she had worn in the Velvet Room though the velvet was still featured on the clothes excluding her stockings, Felice caught himself while he averted his eyes from the silver blonde coughing into the sheet out of a need for distraction.

"Your eyes just now, how did you do it? I figured golden was a natural color for you besides Igor."

"It is, but there are abilities granted to attendants to fit into your world without too much trouble." Margaret clasped her hands while she leaned forward in her seat. "However that is not the true reason for my visit to you today…I wanted to ask you about your progress in solving that mystery you have on your mind now. Are you getting a hint on the path of what you needed to do?"

"No clues…to be honest when I came here I didn't expect to find anything related to it. And how do you know about it, anyway? I remember Igor with his cards but you guys didn't know anything else about me that I may have talked about in regards to that mystery do you?"

"My master has his ways, and he already knew about the mystery that you posed for yourself when you came to us the first time," Margaret replied while she crossed her arms, the sight of her without the book was unusual to the muddy blonde as the words sank in. "I see, it's all relating to that time I first went to you…if only I can recall it," Felice replied Margaret folding her arms while she stared at the wall.

"Wouldn't it be more prudent than wandering to whatever place that strikes your memory for the last two months?"

"…"

"I am here because my master is concerned with your contract and the terms being endangered due to your current progress." Margaret stated as she unfolded her hands letting them rest on her kneecaps, the attendant keeping her eyes on Felice who was keeping quiet. "He thinks that you are at a crossroads to not attend the path you've promised to keep."

"I don't even know why I had this power at all…or why I bothered to sign the contract the first time when I don't remember it being signed. I can't remember no matter how hard I tried." He admitted to himself loud enough for Margaret to hear, the attendant continuing to watch him intently as a flash of golden flared a slight edge to her presence. "That was not the words that you spoke to us when you first arrived to us."

"?!" Felice's face was an expression of genuine surprise and yet a hint of familiarity was struck in his brain. "The words I spoke to you? What are you talking about, Margaret?"

"I would throw my life away in search for the truth, if you can lend me this power, I can save myself." Margaret quoted towards Felice the teen left dumbfounded as a sharp white flash shot through his vision blinding him for a moment before he regained focus, the woman solemnly looking at him while she clasped her hands together. "Those were the words that my master and I remember when you first came to the Velvet Room. You were different then, conviction in your heart and mind sharp as steel headstrong in your decision. We gave you that power, but you are fluctuating…look into your heart and know that it is starting to show with frustration and mystery, like the Moon it is stagnation of your mind and soul."

"What are you trying to imply?" He asked as Margaret stood up and walked towards the door of the ward turning back to face him with a light smile on her lips. "That the answers you so actively seek are close already, how you choose to find it is your own decision. We residents are after all only servants to fate yet navigators towards destiny, whatever that may be."

"…"

"Well then, farewell for now. However, I should let you know that the window of opportunity grows short with each passing day you linger in this room, so please consider what you wish to do next." Margaret commented as she walked out of the ward leaving Felice staring at the window to his hospital room, the boy closing his eyes as he felt his weary body demanding him to sleep and regain his energy, luring him into the land of dreams.

* * *

Iwatodai dormitory, evening, meeting room

"In short, Makoto-san…I would like you to join us."

One Makoto Yuki was facing the open suitcase in front of him containing an Evoker and a red armband nestled in the suitcase. "I would want you to join our organisation SEES Makoto," Yuki looked at the eyes of one Mitsuru Kirijo who was looking in anticipation along with the Chairman who was in his seat leaning forward while Akihiko and Yukari were exchanging glances of anticipation to Yuki's words. Picking up the Evoker, Yuki stroked the metallic barrel while a silence engulfed the room the bluenette looking back at Mitsuru for only a moment before he cast his eyes over the room of anxious teens and adult.

"I'll join you." Yuki stated without emotion as a sigh from Yukari was heard, the archer placing a hand over her chest as her relief was evident. "Oh good, I was thinking you might not have wanted to join us at all."

Ikutsuki on the other hand was elated at the decision, the man giving a clap of his hand while he showed a genuine smile the man spreading his hands out at his sides with joy. "Well that is delightful to hear Makoto-kun, I was hoping that you would come around to the offer of helping us out with our problem."

"However before I go on, there is one thing I would like to say…Ikutsuki-san, Kirijo-san." The man looked up at Yuki who held a stern expression as he spun the Evoker in his hand staring at Ikutsuki with the coldest tone he could place. "I do not appreciate that you and Senpai were snooping around my folder, even if you were planning to explore my background. The reason that I joined SEES is that I want to find out what happened ten years ago there is no mistake in that, I want answers from the Kirijo group and whatever they have on that incident ten years ago." He noticed Mitsuru flinch from his eyes as he glared at Ikutsuki again, the man feeling intimidated by Yuki's menacing glare. "However if you do something like this again, you'll be assured that I won't even care if Shadows are clawing at your damn dorm door…I will leave SEES if you continue to hide things from me, I hope that is understood Kirijo-san."

"…Yes," Mitsuru avoided his gaze completely when Yuki stared at her for a moment before he grabbed the armband from the suitcase along with his Evoker and walked out of the room, the door closing behind him as Yuki took a step outside walking towards his room. As he did so Akihiko stood to follow Yuki when Mitsuru spoke up behind him the heiress turning away from the three who were unable to comprehend what had just occurred from Yuki, the redhead biting her fingernail.

"Akihiko, stop it."

"But he's-"

"No, Akihiko. I…have to respect the fact that despite our mistake that Makoto-san is willing to join SEES without any sense of misgivings and he would lend us his power to end the Dark Hour," Mitsuru insisted while Akihiko looked at the doors throwing a glove hand out. "But that isn't fair, is it? You and the others didn't know how he would-"

"Akihiko that's enough!" The voice that came back at the teen was a commanding tone from the heiress who glared at Akihiko her hands clenched in her chest while Yukari's excitement at a new team member dimmed to a dying halt as she watched Yuki leave his threat and walked out of the room, the girl getting up to her feet and without hesitation or clarity walked out of the meeting room intent on finding Yuki's room. She didn't take long to find him outside of his room about to open the door before she brought her hand to the knob stopping Yuki from advancing further while she expressed concern.

"Yuki…"

"Yes, Yukari-san?" Yuki answered his eyes weren't narrowed and an emotionless tone was all she heard as Yukari shook her head, the girl sternly giving him a glare. "Don't 'yes' me you idiot! You just raised hell and stormed off like that, what is going on with you with that outburst just now?"

"The meeting? That was what it was Yukari-san, I simply told Mitsuru-senpai and Ikutsuki-san what I wanted them to know about the condition for me staying in SEES and to make my position clear, is that wrong for you, would that be a problem for you as well?"

"Don't hide behind words, I want to know why! Why would you even-?" Yukari wanted to say something further before Yuki glared at her, the girl freezing up as she felt the same feeling she received from him at the hospital not long ago Yukari looking down at the ground before Yuki stuffed the armband in his pocket.

"Because Mitsuru-senpai is right, I want answers like how you were at my bedside wanting to know about what happened ten years ago." Yuki replied as he saw Yukari stop, her words at the hospital affecting her as he closed his eyes his grip falling to his side along with the armband. "I am indeed like you much as I hate to admit it I wanted to know the truth of the matter…I cannot move on, at least from my perspective of things. I can't rest well knowing my parents just died because they were there on that night…"

"Yuki-kun," Yukari wanted to say more before Yuki gave her a wry smile. "I actually appreciate that you came clean first to me about it, I was thinking I was the only one here and felt used by them…" Yuki's smile seemed to radiate some form of emotion through his statement, though the moment passed as quickly as it came with the curves of his lips falling into line as he reached for the doorknob and opened it, looking at Yukari before he closed the door.

"I won't run away, not anymore."

Outside the hospital, Dark Hour

The night wind blew despite the screams and horrors of humans being heard almost like a bare whisper in the air, a void without any form of life felt omnipotent in the streets of red and coffins hiding away their masters from the additional cruelty in the world as humans within slept safe and protected. A puddle of muddied blood just outside the gates of the garden was soon interrupted with a loud splash, the droplets of crimson lifewater flew into the air hitting cloth creating dark stains while a gloved hand smoothed the creases which clung onto the piece of clothing, the loss of electricity creating an abyss of black as the nights of old before fire. The silhouette moved gracefully down the street as growls and groans of the city's night time denizens were stirring and ready to feed upon the others, carefully stepping past the gate stopping to observe the large garden and the hospital floors above.

"…" Looking briefly at the hospital, the silhouette only gave a glance before it moved away from the garden the figure retreating back the way it had arrived.

End


End file.
